Bilingual street signs stolen in south Belfast

Police are investigating after bilingual street signs were stolen in south Belfast - the fourth time they have been targeted.

It was reported that a man removed the two signs in Haypark Avenue in the Ormeau area during the early hours of Sunday.

It is being treated by police as a “sectarian motivated hate crime”.

A PSNI spokesman said: “It was reported that at approximately 1.40am on Sunday, a man entered the area on foot, removed two signs and then walked off in the direction of Ailesbury Road.

The man is described as being around 5′11″ tall, with short light brown hair, heavy build and was wearing a green T-shirt.

In a post on social media, Sinn Féin representative Stevie Jenkins shared photographs of the stolen signs.

He said he had reported “this hate crime” to the PSNI and Belfast City Council.

• “This is yet another attack on a vibrant, tolerant and diverse community,” he added.

In March, the signs were completely removed, just a month after damage had been caused when the ends were cut off with a power tool.

In another incident in December 2023, the lettering was also scratched off.

Initially erected last October, they were taken down temporarily after a spelling mistake was spotted in the Irish language lettering.

Dual-language signage is increasing as a result of a new Belfast City Council policy that allows at least one resident of a street, or a councillor, to trigger a consultation on erecting a sign in a second language alongside English.