Just when the citizens of this country started believing that we were - finally - moving out of a conflict situation, a mob of 200 so-called loyalists lay into the police.

Shots were fired, missiles thrown and cars set alight, in scenes which were straight out of 1970's Northern Ireland.

And all this because PSNI officers conducted raids on nine homes in the area.

Presumably, the police would not have launched these searches unless they had good reason to do so.

However, what is not acceptable in a democratic society, is mob rule aimed at preventing the police carrying out their lawful duty.

As the dust settles on the Kilcooley estate today, community and church leaders must use every means at their disposal to prevent a repetition of these deplorable scenes.

The police, too, have a duty to make contact with those whose influence in the estate can also prevent a recurrence.

Street rioting has no place in today's Northern Ireland - it is bad for our image abroad and makes the lives of law-abiding citizens who get caught up in it, pure hell.