reasonable

“The conduct of the involved deputies was objectively reasonable,” the county’s lawyers wrote in their legal response two years ago, adding that the “deputies were acting in self-defense and defense of others.”

Craig Cooper, from the authority said a "fair and reasonable consultation had been under way since last autumn".

The council said it had made a "fair and reasonable" offer to the union Unite, whose members have staged the series of one-day walkouts.

He added: "While it is already illegal to carry a crossbow in public without reasonable excuse, we have been reviewing whether controls need to be strengthened further."

He cited Stormont legislation which said that there should be "reasonable numbers of both Protestant and Roman Catholic children" in integrated schools.