FOUR men have been charged following a racially motivated hate crime in the Lawrence Street area of Belfast in June this year.

Police say three of the men, two aged 20 and one aged 19, and have been charged with a number of offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence and aggravated burglary.

A fourth man, aged 23, has been charged with assisting offenders over the incident.

They are all due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, for a first remand hearing.

As is normal procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

In June, a group of people were threatened in a south Belfast property by a gang of armed men.

Police said the men forced their way into a house and threatened the occupants.

Windows at the property were also smashed by the intruders who were reportedly armed with a knife and what appeared to be a firearm.

Ten men were present in the property, one of whom was assaulted and required hospital treatment for facial injuries.