Gardaí came under attack on Thursday at the site of a house earmarked for asylum seekers in Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow.

Six arrests were made after fires were lit at the scene of the trouble in the town.

Gardaí received both verbal and physical abuse throughout the day, which escalated into rocks and other missiles being thrown at them at the scene last night.

Officers used force, including incapacitant spray, to defend themselves as part of an escalated response to the situation and its Public Order Unit carrying helmets and shields and 50 Gardaí attended the scene late last night.

Gardai attacked in Newtownmountkennedy

An axe has been recovered during the public order incident at the site in Newtownmountkennedy but no-one was injured.

Three Garda patrol cars have been damaged during the incident, including broken windows and slashed tyres.

A number of trespassers were also identified and removed from the IPAS site last night.

Six people were arrested and are currently detained at Garda stations in Wicklow.

Main image: File photo of Gardaí. Image: Barry Cronin/Alamy