This transcript is courtesy of the Northern Ireland Information Service

DARWIN TEMPLETON - UTV LIVE - Aug. 16, 2002

DARWIN TEMPLETON

Police and Army reinforcements were called to the Ardoyne Road just after 2 o'clock this afternoon when trouble flared. The PSNI say that, at its height, several hundred people were involved in the clashes at the interface, which was the focus of the Holy Cross dispute. As is now normal practice, loyalist residents of Glenbryn were summoned onto the streets by a siren operated by community activists.

CATHERINE MONTGOMERY, GLENBRYN RESIDENT

When I arrived on the Ardoyne Road, a large crowd of Catholics had come up to the wall, which is the usual tactic, had attacked the area with bricks, bottles, stones, etc. Because of the siren, the residents had come out. When the residents actually came out onto the road, that's when the gunman appeared behind the wall, and fired at least 10 shots. And we ended up actually lying on the ground just here at Hesketh, I ended up holding a pensioner who's in a state of shock at the moment. And once the gunman had disappeared, then the police arrived, there hadn't been any police on the scene at that time.

DARWIN TEMPLETON

After order was restored, rival groups eyed each other across the security lines. And as the PSNI began to scale back its presence, the Sinn Fein representative disputed the extent of the disturbances, but said they were difficult to stop.

MARGARET McCLENAGHAN, SF

The people up there, when I went up, and I was up within five or 10 minutes of it starting, and they did say they had heard shots. Now nobody knew who was responsible for it.

DARWIN TEMPLETON

And you don't know where they were aimed at or where they were coming from?

MARGARET McCLENAGHAN, SF

No, I wasn't there when it happened, but the people who were there said they heard the gunfire and that was as much as it was.

DARWIN TEMPLETON

It's desperately difficult to keep the lid on this sort of thing.

MARGARET McCLENAGHAN, SF

Well, I mean, you can't have people standing on street corners, you know, watching children, either on this side, nor on the Protestant side. I mean there's no way you can do it. You just can't give that much time, I think everybody gives enough time in that particular end of the area. And it's just impossible, because I mean there's hundreds upon hundreds of kids running about here, as you know.

DARWIN TEMPLETON

The police say they are aware of reports that shots were fired during the trouble, and they are now investigating. Once more we've seen just how quickly things can escalate at this flashpoint.