A Catholic family targeted by loyalist petrol bombers have claimed that the attack on their home was a murder attempt.
Mr Frank and Ms Maureen Burleigh and their son were trapped in their house at Linn Road, Larne, Co Antrim, after the device set fire to the stairs while they were asleep upstairs shortly after 1.30 a.m. yesterday. Their son Michael (20) jumped from a window after being woken by a smoke alarm and tried to kick in the front door, but was beaten back by the flames.
Mr and Mrs Burleigh were rescued from upstairs by firefighters.
The Burleighs moved into the house in Larne after they were intimidated out of their previous home in nearby Craigyhill Estate.
Mr Burleigh (57) said yesterday the attackers "were aiming to kill".
"The flames were halfway up the stairs and the smoke was so thick you couldn't see anything. It's just naked sectarianism and they pick on a family of Catholics until they drive them out. I never want to go through that again. It was terrifying."
They were treated for smoke inhalation. The front porch was badly burnt in the fire with extensive smoke damage throughout inside. "The house is not liveable in, it's not worth going back to," Mr Burleigh added.
Divisional fire officer Mr Brian Marley said the family had a lucky escape. "They were at the first-floor window of the property so the brigade used ladders and assisted them to safety," he said.
Mr Danny O'Connor, an SDLP Assembly member for Larne, said the bombers realised their victims would be trapped.
"They knew full well that the family would be in bed asleep and they tried to burn the stairs which would be their only escape route. Anybody who looks at this as anything other than attempted murder needs their head examined."
The petrol-bombing followed two shootings on Monday night in which two men were injured.
In Co Tyrone, Mr Andrew Tate was dragged from a phone box by gunmen and shot twice in the legs. He is recovering in hospital. The PSNI described the incident as horrific and unacceptable. No motive has been established.
In the other shooting, a man was shot in his home in the sprawling Rathcoole estate in Co Antrim in what appeared to be a paramilitary-style attack. Five masked men forced their way into the house at Innis Park and shot him twice in the leg.
He is in hospital where his condition is described as stable.