Bonfire builders have called for “calm heads” after their half-built fire was set alight. Firefighters had to extinguish the blaze at the Edgarstown site, in Portadown, Co Armagh, after it was started at around midnight.
In a statement, the builders described the incident as a “sectarian attack” and blamed “politicians who spend the entire summer demonising and criticising us”.
They added: “Is it any wonder there are extremists who pick up on their hatred and act upon it? We appeal for calm heads, with efforts placed in re-building the fire from the ashes in defiance of those driven by hatred.
