'Housing shortage forced my family apart after sectarian attack'

Briege Begley is now living in temporary accommodation

A Catholic woman intimidated out of her home in June has said her replacement housing is substandard and, as a result, has split up her family.

Briege Begley and her family lived at Westland Way in north Belfast for just three days but fled after what police have described as a sectarian hate crime.

Despite having a daughter, 18, and a son, 14, who had been living with her, Ms Begley was given a two-bedroom flat meaning one child now has to live with their grandmother.

The Housing Executive acknowledged that the flat was not suitable but added there was a problem with housing supply across Northern Ireland.

It said it utterly condemned the threats against Ms Begley which caused her family to flee.

Ms Begley had been on the waiting list for many years before moving into a house in the loyalist Westland area.

She told BBC Spotlight she and her son were arriving home one June evening when her son saw a masked man at a distance.

"My son goes, 'Mummy look at him with a balaclava on his face'".

He then questioned if the man was there for Ms Begley and her family.

Intimidating graffiti has appeared in several areas of north Belfast in recent months

"He started getting scared and nervous and I went, no, I don't think so," she said.

But having parked at the back of the house, they walked to the front to find the window of the vacant house next door smashed and "locals only" daubed on its wall.

Ms Begley said they then heard a noise at the back of the house where she had parked.

She went back round to find the four tyres of her car had just been slashed.

Ms Begley said that when the police came they advised her to leave.

"I said: 'Well, there's nowhere to go. It was, well even the children, have the children somewhere to go?

"So I phoned their grandmother and she said, yeah.

"The police said: 'Tell them go and pack some stuff'. Then I walked them to the police car and I burst out crying."

'Lack of suitable accommodation'

Ms Begley has since been living in temporary accommodation – a two-bedroom apartment in a nationalist part of north Belfast, provided by the Housing Executive.

She told Spotlight that her 18-year-old daughter is now unable to live with her, the first time her family has ever lived separately.

She said: "I'm very close to my kids. They've always been at my side. But now I feel like I'm just losing them."

She added that she has gone down three dress sizes because of the trauma of what happened.

The Housing Executive said it was doing everything it could to resolve Ms Begley's situation.

It added: "We understand that her continuing wait for permanent housing is impacting Ms Begley and her family following the intimidation and having to move from their home.

"Unfortunately, our teams are dealing with many similar situations to Ms Begley and many other families."

It said the wait for a permanent home is due to the lack of supply and available of suitable accommodation across Northern Ireland.

Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck believes UDA members have been involved in sectarian intimidation in North Belfast

The PSNI said it believed the attack on the house and the slashing of the tyres were linked and were treated as a sectarian-motivated hate crime.

"The Police Service condemns all sectarian-motivated hate crimes, and any subsequent criminal damage caused to property.

"Our officers will continue to provide a visible presence within local communities and are always there to help prevent and investigate sectarian hate crimes."

Last month, Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck told the Policing Board that he believed UDA members were involved in sectarian intimidation in north Belfast over the summer.

Spotlight has also spoken to a woman from one of several Catholic families who fled a new housing development in the Lower Oldpark area of north Belfast this summer due to sectarian intimidation.

She also said that her temporary accommodation, a two-bedroom flat, is unsuitable for her and her four children.

It has been provided by Clanmil Housing Association which said it "utterly condemned" the intimidation and attacks on people in the Lower Oldpark.

It added: "Our immediate response was to offer temporary accommodation to people who wanted to leave. There is an acute shortage of housing in Northern Ireland and we offered any suitable accommodation that we had available in the local area.

"We acknowledge these homes do not meet the long-term needs of these families."