RUC treat attack as sectarian

A flat occupied by a Protestant man and a Catholic woman was extensively damaged in a petrol-bomb attack in the Waterside area…

A flat occupied by a Protestant man and a Catholic woman was extensively damaged in a petrol-bomb attack in the Waterside area of Derry yesterday morning. The flat, at Sperrin Park, in the mainly loyalist Caw Estate in the Waterside area of the city, had been damaged in a similar attack three months ago. "We are treating this as an attack motivated by sectarianism," an RUC spokesman said.

"The man was asleep in bed when he was awoken by the sound of breaking glass. He found that an armchair and curtains in the living room were on fire and after alerting the fire service, he left the flat. A second petrol bomb was found intact in the front garden," the spokesman added.

The attack was condemned by Mr Joe Miller, a DUP councillor for the area. "This has to stop. One of these days someone will be killed in one of these petrol bomb attacks. It is an absolute disgrace, but unfortunately attacks of this nature are on the increase."