Police have arrested a man after two officers were assaulted whilst responding to an attempted theft in south Belfast.

Sergeant Rooney said: “We received a report shortly before 11.55am this morning, Thursday 5th September, of a man attempting to steal a bicycle in the Castle Street area of the city.

“On officers’ arrival, the man was armed with a weapon and was acting in an erratic and aggressive manner.

“Two officers were injured when they approached the suspect – one of whom required hospital treatment for facial injuries. Both of these officers were unable to remain on duty. Assaults on police and emergency staff are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated as simply being ‘part of the job’.”

Sergeant Rooney continued: “The man, aged in his 40s, was subsequently arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including assault on police, resisting police, going equipped for theft, criminal damage and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

“He remains in custody at present as enquiries continue into our investigation. We are appealing to anyone who may have been in the Castle Street area during the time-frame of this report, and witnessed what happened to make contact with police on 101, quoting reference number 593 05/09/24.”

A report can be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/