The mother of a 24 year old man shot in the foot and leg in a gun attack last week has said the micro-republican group ONH has denied responsibility for the shooting.

Kathleen Donnan, whose son Christopher was shot in Jamaica Street on Friday night, said she approached the gang as they had previously placed her son under threat. However she said ONH had stated categorically that they were not responsible for the shooting.

The attack on Christopher Donnan came on a day which seen NI Water employees threatened in Ardoyne and their lorry attacked and petrol bombed. Claims put out that the workers were installing water meters have been slammed as “stupidity” by local representatives.

Meanwhile the deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has said ‘dissidents’ need to ‘get real’ during a visit to Ardoyne this week. The Sinn Féin man said the main victims of their violence was local people. He added that while he had no issue with people holding different political opinions he did take exception to attacks on essential services on which the local community depended.

Meanwhile, an autistic teenager, who was also threatened by ONH, had a narrow escape after a gang tried to break into his home two weeks ago.