Tricolour flags placed on Fountain bonfire

A large Green, White and Orange flag was placed on top of the bonfire of pallets and other materials in the estate, while a second Tricolour was draped across the body of the bonfire, alongside a Starry Plough flag.

A smaller mini-bonfire erected nearby was similarly topped with the Irish Tricolour.

Concerns have been expressed over the use of such emblems on bonfires across the north over recent years, with a number of complaints lodged with police regarding summer bonfires in both Loyalist and Republican areas.

While there have no reports of election posters on bonfires in Derry by yesterday afternoon, over recent days there have been complaints that electoral posters of Sinn Fein representatives were being placed on bonfires in Portadown and Cookstown, in the run up to the Eleventh Night and the Twelfth celebrations.

Sinn Fein Derry City & Strabane District Councillor Patricia Logue has called for an end to all actions which foster division.

She said: “There must be a zero tolerance against all forms of hate crimes ,racism, sectarianism, and those who seek to promote sectarian division in Derry.”

Dealing with bonfires in the city and district has been a topic of debate among local councillors during several recent council meetings.