Romanian gypsy families in Northern Ireland have been forced to leave their homes after racist attacks that are being blamed on rightwing elements of the pro-British loyalist community.

About 100 people, who local politicians say are members of the ethnic Roma community, were yesterday preparing to spend their first night in a Belfast leisure centre. They arrived under police escort after attacks on homes in south Belfast on Monday night, when bricks were thrown by a crowd shouting slogans of the hard-right Combat 18 group.