West Belfast 5G mast 'deliberately' set on fire

Image source, Paul Doherty

A 5G mast that was "deliberately" set on fire in west Belfast has been extinguished, the Northern Ireland Fire Service has said.

A report of the fire on the Andersonstown Road was made shortly before 22:00 GMT on Wednesday.

SDLP councillor for the area Paul Doherty, whose office is close to the mast, said he received a call to say there was a concern that the mast could "collapse onto a building".

He said it is "vandalism" and that there is "a pattern" of this type of behaviour in the area.

Doherty said it is effecting local businesses, who are experiencing a "real struggle" getting a signal.

He said "nurses on call" are unable to receive messages and people are "unable to pick up the phone to call for assistance".

A local taxi depot on the Glen Road has also had "trouble" for months because of similar incidents, according to Doherty.

"It's having a serious impact on people's day-to-day lives," he said.

He called on the perpetrators to "wise up" and said it would have been "very serious" if the mast had collapsed.