Car fires in Newtownabbey treated as 'racially-motivated' by police

Police say they are treating as arson with a racially-motivated hate element a report of two cars on fire in Newtownabbey.

It happened just before 11 o'clock on Saturday night in the East Way area.

A PSNI spokesperson said: "Officers attended, along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, who extinguished the blaze. Significant damage has been caused to both cars.

"It was further reported that glass in a window and door of a nearby house had been smashed and that there was graffiti on the front of the house.

"Thankfully, no serious injuries have been reported by the family who were inside the house at the time – a man, a woman and three young children - although they have been left shaken by the ordeal."