Man may leave after arson attack

A hate motive is a major line of inquiry in the fire

A Bulgarian man has said he may leave Northern Ireland after repeatedly being the victim of arson attacks.

In the latest attack on Fiday morning his restaurant on Main Street, in Bushmills, was badly damaged.

Adjoining properties were also damaged and a local hostel had to be evacuated during the fire.

Michael Sotirov said it was the third attack on his businesses, which employ 40 people. His Portballintrae home was targeted in an arson attack last month.

"I think I'm going to leave because that's not the place I want to live," Mr Sotirov said.

"At the time I decided to come here I was very happy and everything was going nice, but I have two kids as well and they're not happy at all, my wife's not happy - she can't sleep at night - we're all scared now, we can't really live this life anymore.

"It's completely different, it's not a place we want to stay anymore."

A hate motive is a major line of inquiry in the arson attack which was reported at about 0230 BST on Friday.

The police in Coleraine have appealed for anyone with information in relation to the attack to contact them.