Petrol bombers target hall

The building was attacked at midnight

Six people were taken to hospital after a petrol bomb attack on a hall in County Antrim on Monday night.

It was the latest in a series of attacks which have been carried out by republicans against halls used by the Protestant Orange Order.

On this occasion, the two-storey building in Aghalee is jointly owned by the Orange Order and the Church of Ireland.

Eyewitnesses said four men wearing balaclavas and combat jackets, pulled up in a car and threw several petrol bombs into the hall at the junction of the Soldierstown and Lurgan roads.

If the fire had got hold any quicker then all six may have been trapped in the building

Fire officer David Miller

Six people - members of the Protestant Apprentice Boys - were holding a meeting on the first floor of the building.

They heard the sound of breaking glass about midnight but managed to escape when they realised what had happened.

They ran to a neighbours's house where they got fire extinguishers and hoses to tackle the blaze, before the fire brigade arrived.

The men suffered from the effects of breathing in smoke and were taken to hospital. One remained in hospital on Monday night.

One of the men said the perpetrators of the attack would have known they were inside.

He told BBC Radio Ulster: "We were upstairs with the curtains fully drawn back, lights on, and cars parked outside.

"Whoever came with the intention of doing what they did knew that there was people in the hall."

The devices were thrown into the ground floor of the premises, which is used by the Church of Ireland for church services. It bore the brunt of the damage.

An ancient organ, pews and a pulpit were among the items burned.

The top floor of the building is used by the Orange Order.

The inside of the hall was badly damaged

Fire Brigade Station Officer David Miller said the incident could have been much worse.

"It's a serious incident whenever there's life in the building. If the fire had got hold any quicker then all six may have been trapped in the building.

"The consequences could have been serious".

Speaking after the attack, Ulster Unionist Upper Bann assemblyman George Savage called on the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party to "tone down" its attacks on the Orange Order.

He referred specifically to comments made by the party's Brid Rodgers who he said had been critical of Orange Order protests over a ban on a march at Drumcree in County Armagh.

Catholic churches attacked

The attack came during another night of violence across Northern Ireland as loyalists protested over the banned Drumcree parade.

Three Catholic churches were also attacked. One person was arrested after a petrol bomb attack on a Catholic church on the Doagh Road in Ballyclare.

Windows were broken in a Catholic church in Bangor, County Down.

And fire and smoke damage was caused to a church on the Feystown Road outside Glenarm in County Antrim, after flammable liquid was poured through the window and set alight.

There were also outbreaks of rioting and sporadic incidents of hijacking and stone throwing in other parts of the province.

The police were also petrol bombed in Belfast.