Two Catholic priests escaped with their lives in Northern Ireland today when they managed to beat out flames in their burning home after it was petrol bombed.
Four petrol bombs and three canisters of lighter fuel were thrown through the living room window of the parochial house in Newcastle, County Down, in an attack described by local MP Mr Eddie McGrady as an "attempted double murder".
The sound of breaking glass, at around 5 a.m., woke one of the priests. He roused his colleague and between them they managed to beat out the flames.
But there was considerable damage to the living room, police said. Mr McGrady, SDLP MP for South Down, said: "This is a very vicious and horrifying attack, really it is attempted murder.
"It wasn't just somebody throwing a petrol bomb at the front door, it was four petrol bombs and canisters of fuel. It was an attempt to set the Parochial House ablaze with the two good fathers in it.
"It was a horrendous event, it was really a murder attempt, a double murder attempt, and must be treated as such."
Meanwhile troubled North Belfast saw another night of community strife when loyalists launched what police branded "an unprovoked sectarian attack" on Catholic homes.
A loyalist mob stormed over the peace line and began attacking Catholic homes. One house was destroyed in a petrol bomb attack and windows were broken in nine more.
A couple and their young children had a lucky escape when a petrol bomb thrown at an upstairs bedroom window exploded against the glass but did not shatter it.
Residents in the Ligoniel area said it appeared the crowd attack the first Catholic homes they came to and tried to break into some.
PA