It followed an “earlier verbal altercation”, and those targeted are described as having “sustained a number of serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries”.

“A short time later, three men aged 28, 23 and 21 were stopped in their vehicle and arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon,” a police spokesperson said.

“A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a quantity of suspected class A and class B drugs, and the 23-year-old was subsequently further arrested on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs.

“The three remain in custody at this time.” 

The police spokesperson said the incident is being treated as a racially-motivated hate crime.

“We know that this was shocking for those enjoying the evening sunshine on the beach and want to reassure the local community that our investigation is progressing at pace,” they said.

“We had an increased police presence in the area to ensure that everyone left the beach safely, and were on the scene quickly – but want to commend members of the public who helped to prevent the altercation escalating further.

“As our enquiries continue, we would appeal to anyone who may have witnessed this assault, or the events leading up to it, to contact police on 101, quoting reference 1721 25/05/26.

“We’re particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have recorded footage of the incident.” Information can also be provided using the online non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport.