Housing Executive contractors withdrawn from Londonderry
Dissident attacks sees services put on hold amid security fears
Last updated 22nd Jan 2019
Contractors working for the Housing Executive have been withdrawn from certain parts of Londonderry, after a worker's van was hijacked.
It comes amid security fears following a recent spate of attacks by dissident republicans in the area.
There were three security alerts in the city on Monday after a car bomb attack on the court house in Bishop Street on Saturday night.
Services were withdrawn in Bishop Street, Brandywell, Creggan, Rosemount and Rossville.
DUP Foyle MLA Gary Middleton condemned the ongoing disruption in the city after meeting with PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton.
He told media: "There has been significant disruption from Saturday night from the bomb attack - the effect it has had on the hotels and businesses.
"But also today we know that, for example, the Housing Executive has had to withdraw their contractors as of yesterday afternoon.''
"Disruption to basic services that people in those communities would expect, continues to be disrupted and the message to those people who carry out those attacks is that you are hurting your very own people.''
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Housing Executive said: "Following the hijacking of a van belonging to one of our contractors yesterday and a number of similar incidents last night, our maintenance and heating contractors withdrew their services on the City side.
"The Housing Executive takes these matters very seriously, the protection and safety of people who work for us is paramount.
"We apologise to our tenants for this suspension of service, however, given the circumstances, this decision is unavoidable.
"We hope that there is a resolution to enable services to resume as soon as possible.
"We ask that tenants and other customers contact us with repair or other housing issues as normal.''
DUP Policing Board members George Dorrian and Mervyn Storey were also in the delegation that met with the PSNI chief constable on Tuesday morning.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Storey praised police for their handling of the car bomb and their quick response to security alerts.
"There never was any justification for these type of incidents in the past and there is no justification for them now, and we trust that the police, the community and civic society will continue to ensure that those people who want to carry out these particular activities are minimised and are not given any oxygen to continue this type of activity,'' he said.
"We are confident of what the Chief Constable was able to tell us in regards to their capability as an organisation and how they intend to deal with this as they move forward.
"Let's remember, police and the security services have been able to thwart other incidents in the past and I think that is something as a community in Northern Ireland we ought to be very thankful for."