MP recovering well after being knocked unconscious by Belfast riot missile

North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds is making a good recovery after being knocked out during the loyalist riots that have hit his constituency in recent days, the Democratic Unionist Party said.

The DUP deputy leader, 54, was struck by a missile thrown by a rioter as trouble flared in the Woodvale Road area on Friday night.

Moments earlier he had been talking with police officers who were bearing the brunt of the violent onslaught.

He was knocked unconscious for around 10 minutes and only came fully round in an ambulance taking him to Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital.

As he lay prone on the Woodvale Road Mr Dodds was drenched by a police water cannon that was being deployed to subdue rioters.

The MP spent Friday night in hospital and was discharged early on Saturday.

“Nigel is glad to be back home and he’s making a good recovery,” said the DUP spokesman. “He hopes to be back in his office within the next few days.”

The DUP also released dramatic new images of the moments immediately after the MP was struck with medics and colleagues trying to rouse him.