Politicians have condemned an arson attack near Glenarm, Co Antrim, which injured a 20-year-old woman and her 10-month-old daughter. The Ulster Unionist MLA for the area, Mr Roy Beggs, described the attack as "mindless". He added: "This is particularly sickening as the life of a young child was put at risk as well as that of the adults in the home."
The Secretary of the Northern Ireland Workers Party, Mr Tommy Owens, described the incident as "attempted murder".
The attack occurred shortly after 1 a.m. yesterday when Ms Francesca Feeney and her daughter Rebecca were asleep in a bedroom in their house in Carnalbanagh six miles outside Glenarm in the Glens of Antrim.
A petrol bomb was hurled into the room which ignited immediately.
Ms Feeney said yesterday that only for the quick action of her partner, Mr Ronnie Hamilton, who put out the blaze, she and her child would have been "burnt alive".
The attack is the third on the family home in a year. In an earlier attack, it was badly damaged. The couple believe they are being targeted because of their mixed religions. Yesterday they were not sure whether they would be returning to their home.