Family escapes racist arson attack on home

A red brick house with a burn mark on the front door. The door was originally brown but has a large black mark on over half of the door, there is also a hole in it. The window seems to be untouched

Police are treating this report as arson with a racially-motivated hate element

A man and woman and their two young children have escaped an arson attack in south Belfast.

Police were called at 15:30 BST on Thursday to reports that the front door of a property in the Thalia Street area was alight.

The police said: "This was a deliberate attack on a young family which could have had potentially serious consequences."

They are treating this report as arson with a racially-motivated hate element.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service extinguished the fire and the family escaped uninjured.

Investigations are ongoing.

The MLA for the area Kate Nicholl said that a recent racist attack on a young family in the area is "abhorrent".

She called for the incident to be robustly condemned.

'It's not who we are'

Kate Nicholl said that south Belfast, and the city at large, is a "welcoming place, and this attack is not who we are".

She added: “Everyone deserves to feel safe in their homes, and respected and valued in their communities.

"Those responsible represent only themselves with such callous, violent behaviour, and they must be robustly condemned by all."

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