Sinn Féin Councillor Patricia Logue said the volunteers who take part in a community rota system on the Interface are helping to reduce tensions in the area.

Community workers challenged a group of young people approaching the Fountain with petrol bombs shortly after 10pm on Tuesday.

Explaining what happened, Colr. Logue said; “A group of youths had gathered in the Bishop area and were about to throw a number of petrol bombs into the Fountain Estate .When volunteers from the local community rota arrived on the scene the youths smashed the petrol bombs on the road and ran off.

“I would like to commend the volunteers for their quick response. Their actions prevented the situation escalating and getting out of control. The last thing the residents of the area want is for these sort of attacks to take place as it heightens community tensions and they are the ones that are left to pick up the pieces in the aftermath.”

One of the volunteers, Charlie McMenamin, said he believed the young people with the petrol bombs were not from the Bogside area. “These people are coming from all over the town and creating problems for people living in the interface. This type of thing has to stop. We don’t want to have a tragedy on our hands,” he said.