Appeal follows 'sectarian' attack

Family's house was attacked by arsonists

A senior police officer has urged residents of a County Antrim village to rally round their Catholic neighbours after an arson attack.

A woman and her 25-year-old son were rescued from their home after the attack in Laurel Hill Park in Ahoghill.

A window near the front door of their home was broken and a liquid set alight just before 0130 BST.

The occupants, who were upstairs at the time, escaped the blaze by climbing onto a porch.

They were rescued by a neighbour. The fire damaged the hall and stairs and the rest of the home was smoke damaged.

Superintendent Terry Shevlin said the attack was being treated as attempted murder.

"This is one of a number of incidents of a sectarian nature," Mr Shevlin said.

"It has got to stop and I'm appealing for people to exercise whatever influence they can to bring this to an end, to look out for their Catholic neighbours and be good neighbours to them.

"This was not just a scare tactic: this was a full blown attempt to seriously harm or murder people," he added.

He appealed for anyone with information about the incident to contact police.

Oonagh Donaghy, who lives in the house, said she and her son Mark were lucky to be alive.

She said she was now considering leaving her home.

Meanwhile, six people, including three children were taken to hospital following a fire at a flat in Duncairn Parade in north Belfast.

The three adults and three girls aged six, three and one, were treated for the effects of breathing in smoke.

The one-year-old was treated for burns to her leg.