Beachgoers seriously injured in suspected racially-motivated assault

Three men in their 30s have been seriously injured following a suspected racially-motivated assault.

At 21:00 BST on Monday, police received a report that the men were assaulted by three others on the beach at Helen's Bay, County Down, following an earlier verbal altercation.

A short time later, three men - aged 28, 23 and 21 - were stopped in their vehicle and arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon. They have since been released on bail.

A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a quantity of drugs, and the 23-year-old was further arrested on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs.

The assaulted men sustained a number of "serious, but non-life threatening injuries", said Ards and North Down District Ch Insp Hutchinson.

"This matter is being treated as a racially-motivated hate crime. We know that this was shocking for those enjoying the evening sunshine on the beach and want to reassure the local community that our investigation is progressing at pace," he said.

"We had an increased police presence in the area to ensure that everyone left the beach safely, and were on the scene quickly - but want to commend members of the public who helped to prevent the altercation escalating further."

The three men have since been released on bail to allow for further police enquiries.

Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident, or may have video footage, to contact them.

Alliance councillor and mayor for Ards and North Down, Gillian McCollum, described the incident as "deeply distressing".

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster, McCollum said: "First of all, my thoughts are obviously with the three injured men and their families and we all wish them a speedy and full recovery as soon as possible.

"There are members of the public who intervened and undoubtedly prevented more serious injuries being sustained and the situation being escalated, that was very brave of them."

In a statement, North Down DUP MLA Stephen Dunne said "there is absolutely no place in our society for hate crime or thuggery of any kind".

"My thoughts are with the victims and I wish them a full and speedy recovery following what must have been a deeply traumatic ordeal."

Dunne said Helen's Bay and the wider North Down area is "a welcoming place for everyone".

Appealing for witnesses to contact the police, he said the warm weather had drawn a large number of people to the beach on the day of the attack.