Catholic parents and children have left Holy Cross Primary School in north Belfast this evening without incident on the Ardoyne Road. They were able to walk the 300 yards protected from loyalists by the RUC and the British army.
This morning a blast bomb was thrown near parents and children on the road as they made their way past a loyalist blocade.
Five RUC officers were injured in the blast and a woman collapsed with shock. None of the children is believed to have been injured.
The loyalist Red Hand Defenders claimed responsibility for the blast bomb. Three people have been arrested, according to an RUC spokeswoman.
As parents and children left school this evening the majority travelled down the Ardoyne Road without incident.
Some parents left through a back entrance to avoid a repeat of this morning's violent scenes.
Earlier this morning two controlled explosions were carried out in the area by security forces. One turned out to be a hoax and the other "some sort of firework device", the RUC said.
This morning's attack happened as the RUC and the British army held back hundreds of protesting loyalists on the Ardoyne Road near the school. It is the third day of protest which is attempting to prevent Catholic children entering their school using their usual route.
Efforts to solve the dispute during the summer holidays failed but political and community leaders may meet today for talks.
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The RUC said that 45 officers and two soldiers had been injured in trouble since early yesterday morning, which has seen some 250 petrol bombs and 15 blast bombs thrown and four cars set on fire and burned out.
Last night petrol bombs, nail bombs and blast bombs were thrown at police lines during disturbances close to the Ardoyne Road.
In the Glenbryn area, a large crowd of loyalists threw bottles, bricks, fireworks and ball bearings at the security forces.
There were also reports of clashes between rival mobs in the North Queen Street, Limestone Road and Westland Road areas.
Yesterday one RUC officer needed treatment for a broken collarbone after loyalists threw a pipebomb just yards away from Holy Cross Primary school.
- The Newry bypass in Co Down was closed in the early hours of this morning after an articulated lorry was hijacked and set on fire.
Two gunmen flagged the lorry down at 12.16 a.m., ordered the driver to place the vehicle across the road. They then set it on fire with petrol bombs.
Meanwhile a house in Larne Co Antrim was shot at overnight, but the RUC say the attack is not at this stage being treated as sectarian.
additional reporting PA