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Protesters have gathered outside the ����ý to protest against plans to axe free TV licences for the over-75s.

Several dozen people picketed the ����ý's offices in Belfast and Londonderry calling for the decision to be reversed.

From next June, only low-income households where one person receives pension credit will still be eligible for a free licence.

Protests have been staged across the UK since the decision was announced.

The ����ý has said the move aims to protect programming, while dealing with the extra funding burden sparked by the government passing the cost of funding free licences onto the ����ý as part of an updated charter agreement.

In 2015, the government announced the ����ý would take over the cost of providing free licences for over-75s by 2020 as part of the fee settlement.

The move would have cost £745m, a fifth of the ����ý's budget, by 2021/22.