THE PSNI bill for policing loyalist parades and protests for eight months has topped £28 million.
Police have revealed that the bill also includes £300,000 per night for the last 54 nights for riot police to watch over a loyalist protest in Ardoyne, north Belfast.
The nightly protest follows a decision by the Parades Commission to block a return Orange Order parade past the Ardoyne shop fronts on July 12.
Violence flared when riot cops prevented them walking any further than the Woodvale Road.
The bill for what police call “abnormal policing” has been over £3 million a month.
The PSNI said it has to deploy huge every night to stop loyalists trying to walks past the Ardoyne for fear of clashes with dissident republicans.
The spiraling cost of policing parades and protests will be discussed at a meeting of the Policing Board tomorrow.