POLICE ARE investigating a possible racist motive behind the petrol bombing of the Lithuanian inhabitants of a Co Tyrone house.
The house, at Millburn Park in Cookstown, was targeted in the early hours of yesterday. A device was thrown against the window of the property.
Two men and two women, one of whom is eight months pregnant, were in the house at the time. No one was injured, but the property was scorched and a car was set alight.
SDLP Assembly member in Mid-Ulster Patsy McGlone said it was not the first time the occupants had been the target of violence.
"I went to visit this family this morning along with local councillor Tony Quinn. It is hard to convey the horror of an attack like this in the middle of the night. Their lives may have been saved by double-glazing, because the petrol bomb smashed the outer layer of glass and exploded against the inner one." He denied that the attack was merely one of mindless vandalism. "Whoever did this intended for it to explode inside the house, and that means they were prepared to do murder.
"These people have been intimidated before. They are doing what Irish people had to do through the ages, heading off to another country to work all the hours they have to send a few pounds home, and we owe them care.
"The racist thugs want to exclude them from our society, but we must exclude the thugs instead. No one should make any excuses for them.
"Anyone who has any idea who attacked this young couple and their child should go to the police without delay, before they attack again, possibly with a tragic outcome."
Latest PSNI statistics show racist incidents are becoming more common. In the year to March 2007 there were 1,047 racist incidents reported, up from 936 in the preceding year. During 2006/07 the number of racist incidents increased by 111 (up 11.9 per cent) and other faith/religion incidents increased by 66 (up 9.4 per cent). During the same period homophobic incidents fell by 65 (down 29.5 per cent), sectarian incidents by 6 (down 0.4 per cent) and incidents with a disability motivation fell by 22 (down 31.4 per cent).