Four police officers received minor injuries after trouble flared during a loyalist parade in north Belfast last night.
Missiles were launched at them as they struggled to restore calm during the Tour of the North.
They sustained bruising and one officer suffered a broken tooth.
‘The police response was balanced and proportionate. Balancing the rights of the interested parties is never easy. A parade like this is looked upon from many viewpoints, including those of local residents, marchers and protesters,’ a PSNI spokesman said.
'The main priority of police is to protect communities,' he said.
The marchers set off from the Orange Hall at Clifton Street at around 7.30pm, amid significant police presence.
When they arrived at Woodvale Parade, procession leaders handed over a letter of protest to police over the Parades Commission's decision not to let two feeder parades pass the Ardoyne shop fronts on the edge of a mainly nationalist area.
Trouble erupted soon after at the top of Twaddell Avenue, with protesters throwing missiles at police and officers in riot gear moving in.
