Newtownards petrol bomb attack may be linked to drugs feud

Just before 23:00 BST on Friday, police received a report that a car had been set alight outside a property in Ballywalter

A petrol bomb attack in County Down could be linked to an ongoing feud between rival drugs gangs, police say.

Just before 23:00 BST on Friday, police received a report that a car had been set alight outside a property in Greyabbey Road in Ballywalter.

Police are treating the fire, which was extinguished by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, as arson.

They are also investigating a possible link to the ongoing feud between rival drugs gangs across Ards and North Down.

The latest incident comes three days after approximately 25 cars were badly damaged after they were set on fire in a business park in Newtownards in County Down.

That attack also was linked to the ongoing feud between rival loyalist factions previously associated with the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).