Police are investigating a so-called sectarian attack on teenager in Belfast.

Eighteen-year-old James Turley was working as a film extra on the set of ‘The Good Man’ in South Belfast when he was attacked last Friday.

The Irish News have reported that the Catholic teenager was left for dead after the attack with the victim reporting that one of his attackers said: "That’s enough I think he is dead".

Police have confirmed that they are investigating a sectartian motive for the attack.

Mr Turley, from Short Strand, said he was confronted by a group of people as filming for a scene as Frenchpark Street was completed. He and four other friends, also extras in the film, were surrounded whilst trying to get into their car.

The gang smashed one of the car windows and pulled off a wing mirror.

Mr Turley ran from the scene but was caught. He described how the gang beat him and jumped on his head and at one point he was knocked out. At this point his attackers stopped.

Later Mr Turley managed to flag down a motorist who drove him to the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Sinn Féin representatives Alex Maskey MLA and Cllr Niall Ó Donnghaile have expressed serious concern following the attack.

Mr Maskey said:"Our constituency office has received several reports of a vicious, sectarian attack on young people from the Short Strand while they were filming in the Village area of south Belfast on Friday evening.

"This of course presents serious concerns for community relations and safety issues in that part of the city - many of us have spent the last number years working hard to establish far better community relations in the area and we know that this attack is not representative of where the community in south Belfast wants to be.

"Anyone with information regarding this attack should bring it forward to the PSNI."

(LB)