Sectarian motive 'not ruled out'

The rear of the house was targeted

The police have said they can not rule out a sectarian motive for an apparent pipe bomb attack on a house in County Down.

A woman and her 20-year-old daughter escaped injury when a device - believed to have been packed with nails - was thrown at the house in Sherby Crescent, Annalong.

The incident happened at about 2315 BST on Wednesday.

Anne Marie Cowen was watching television at the time

Detectives investigating the incident have said the remnants of the device were similar to one found in the Clough area of County Down recently.

In Wednesday's attack, the bomb was thrown at the kitchen window at the rear of the house and exploded on impact.

It shattered windows, blew open a door and sent glass and debris spraying across the kitchen.

So far no motive for the attack has been established.

Anne-Marie Cowen was at home with her daughter Marie at the time of the attack.

Ms Cowen, who has lived in the house for more than three years, said she has no idea why her home had been targeted.

"I was sitting watching television and Marie had just gone to bed and there was this massive bang," she said.

"I knew that it was a bomb, and I knew that it was in the back of the house. Marie was sleeping at the back of the house, so I ran out into the hall and shouted up see if Marie was alright.

"Marie started screaming so I knew she was alright. I looked in the kitchen and I knew something had blown up."

She said she had never felt threatened before but believes it was "pure chance" that neither she, nor her daughter, had been in the kitchen when the device exploded.

Her son-in-law, Adam Hannah, who lives next door, said he heard a "massive thud and then there was a big flash".

These two people have had a lucky and fortunate escape

Emmett Haughian

"I then went in next door and seen the kitchen was devastated, the fridge was blown apart, the back door was blown apart.

"If anyone had been in the kitchen, they probably would have been killed."

Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor Emmett Haughian said he did not believe the attack was sectarian, but said there could easily have been loss of life.

Mr Haughian, who owns a pub close to the bomb scene, visited the house on Thursday morning.

"I feel this was a premeditated, devious, cowardly attack on innocent people and there's no motive, or nothing that I could say that could help me to condemn this. This morning we could have been dealing with fatalities.

The blast shattered windows

"This was strategically placed to cause murder and mayhem."

Ulster Unionist assembly member for south Down Dermot Nesbitt also condemned the attack and urged people to help the police with their investigation into the incident.

He said: "It's certainly very disturbing for a family in their home, to have such an incident occurring. It could have been a very serious incident and it is to be condemned. It should not occur, anywhere."

RUC officers have been examining the area to try to gather forensic evidence.