Police investigating potential race motivation in house arson

A view of the vandalised house. The red-brick terraced property has windows on either side of the front door on both its ground and upper floors. The downstairs windows have been boarded up and the words "local only" have been sprayed on the right hand side window. The white PVC front door has sustained smoke and fire damage. Pacemaker

The terraced house in Upper Glenfarne Street was vacant before the attack

Police are investigating whether a fire and graffiti attack on a vacant house in the Shankill area of west Belfast was racially motivated.

The attack happened at a house on Upper Glenfarne Street at about 20:45 BST on Thursday night.

Emergency services extinguished the fire, which damaged the house's front door. Graffiti was also sprayed on the front window.

The police said the incident is being treated as deliberate and that a racially-motivated element is one line of enquiry.

Related topics