Londonderry: Glass 'shattered over children' in house attack

The children, aged 3 and 5, were having their dinner in the living room at the time of the attack, their father says

Two young children had glass shattered over them when their house was attacked with rocks in Londonderry, their father has said.

A gang of youths targeted two houses in the Fountain Estate on Saturday with rocks, according to police.

The children, aged three and five, were eating their dinner in the living room when the attack happened.

The father, who does not want to be named, said his children had been left traumatised by the ordeal.

"The children had just sat down for their dinner when somebody threw a number of stones through the windows, shattering glass over the children," he told BBC News NI.

"They had glass in their hair and in their dinner," he added.

The attack happened in the fountain estate shortly before 16:45 GMT on Saturday, police say

He said the people behind this attack would have seen the two children's playhouses in the garden and known there were children in the house.

The father-of-two said both children have been left badly shaken by the incident.

"The children keep asking why the bad boys would do that to their house and if they are coming back," he said.

'Sectarian-motivated hate crime'

The police have confirmed they are treating the attack as a sectarian-motivated hate crime.

As well as smashing a window and toys, damage was caused to an interior wall in the family's home.

"The suspects are understood to have left the area via Hawkin Street, towards New Gate," a police spokeswoman said.

Derry City and Strabane District mayor Sandra Duffy said she was appalled to hear about the incident and said every child should feel safe in their home.

The SDLP councillor told BBC Radio Foyle on Monday that those responsible had no support for these actions anywhere in the city or district.

Sinn Féin assembly member Padraig Delargy said there was no place for sectarianism in our society and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.

The DUP's Gary Middleton also condemned the incident and said he believed it was "an attempt to heighten tensions in the area".

As well as smashing a window and toys, damage was caused to an interior wall in the family's home

Local community worker Jeanette Warke said both children were fortunate to have avoided serious injury in the attack.

"I think people who carried out this attack are very irresponsible," Ms Warke said.

"I am very angry. How dare they come into this estate and target people? This is not acceptable."