Shots fired as cars fails to stop in south Armagh

British soldiers fired shots at a car in south Armagh early this morning because its driver refused to stop at a checkpoint.

Police are appealling for information on the dark-coloured Peugeot 406 which sped away from the checkpoint on Cullavile Road, Crossmaglen at 1.30am.

"Two rounds were discharged by military personnel during the incident," a police spokeswoman said this morning. "There have been no reports of any injuries at this time," she added.

She said the soldiers were accompanying police who were on an anti-drink driving patrol in the area at the time.

Dominic Bradley, the SDLP's Newry and Armagh MLA, expressed concern that shots were fired.

“I am fully aware that local residents in the area have been concerned about the levels of speeding and reckless driving incidents in Crossmaglen, and that police officers have been seriously injured in a similar incident but this is not the way to deal with it,” he said.

“There are other means which can be deployed to deal with this type of situation without resort to firearms and such means.”

He said he would be demanding an investigation of the use of firearms in the incident and that other non-lethal devices should be used in the future in similar situations.

Mr Bradley said: “This incident further underlines the need for speedier moves towards normalisation, so that law and order is enforced only by our fully accountable police service.”