SF councillor's Co Down home petrol bombed

The home of a Sinn Féin councillor was attacked with a petrol bomb late last night.

Recently elected Dessie Ward and his family escaped injury when the device was thrown at the front of their house at Edenderry Park in Banbridge, Co Down, at around 11.45 pm.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said there was scorch damage to the front door of the property.

Mr Ward said he was getting ready to go to bed when he saw a flash of light and looked out to see a man preparing to throw a lit petrol bomb. He said the attacker ran off down an alley after hurling the device at the house.

Mr Ward was elected to the local council at polls in May and he said he believed the people behind the attack were "still trying to come to terms with the fact that the Banbridge District Council area now has a Sinn Féin councillor".

Sinn Féin Assembly member for Upper Bann John O'Dowd said unionist paramilitary factions had been encouraged to carry out such attacks "as a result of the negative political environment which is being created by the two main unionist parties.

"I would call on both the UUP and DUP to publicly condemn this attack on a democratically elected public representative," he said.

PA