Three men have been arrested after disorder in Belfast during which windows were smashed and a car was hijacked and rammed into an estate agency.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said they are treating the incidents on Woodvale Road and Rathlin Street as racially motivated hate crimes.

It followed nights of disorder in south Belfast on Saturday and Monday.

The men, who are aged 26, 28 and 41-years-old, were detained on suspicion of a number of offences, including criminal damage.

Police said they received a report that a car had been hijacked by a group of masked men on Fingal Street at about 20:45 BST on Tuesday.

They said the vehicle was then “deliberately driven” at the front of a business on Woodvale Road, before gang left the scene.

Then shortly after 21:25 BST it was reported that masked men were smashing windows in Rathlin Street.

In a statement, Supt Allister Hagan said he wanted to reassure the community, adding that officers will maintain a visible presence in the area.

He said the incidents are being investigated as racially motivated hate crimes.

The officer added that the PSNI has set up a Major Incident Public Portal for people to submit information, images and footage which they have gathered by mobile phone, dash cam or CCTV.

Officers remained on patrol in the area on Tuesday night.

Elsewhere in the city, part of the Newtownards Road was set on fire in east Belfast but police helped to dampen the flames.