Police in Northern Ireland deployed water cannon on Wednesday night as officers sought to disperse protesters during a second evening of unrest linked to anti-migrant tensions.

In Newtownabbey, north of Belfast, masked demonstrators threw bricks, rocks and bottles at police, set fires in the streets and damaged property. A highway maintenance vehicle was also set alight. Aerial footage showed groups piling up debris and confronting riot officers.

The violence followed a knife attack in Belfast on Monday that left a man seriously injured and blind in one eye. A 30-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder, knife possession and making threats to kill.