Newry SDLP Councillor Michael Savage has condemned an arson attack in the city in the early hours of Sunday morning.
A wheelie bin was pushed across the front door of the terraced home in Stream Street and set on fire and the couple inside were trapped upstairs and had to escape through a balcony at the back of the property.
Cllr Savage said: “The alarm was raised at around 4:40am on Sunday when the front of the property was well ablaze. “Thankfully the couple inside, who are believed to be Polish, escaped through the rear of the property and fire crews were able to cut off the gas supply as I believe the pipe at the front was in danger of being fractured.”
“We could have had fatalities here and if it were not for the quick actions of the fire service we could have been looking at another tragedy like Creeslough .
“The PSNI need to determine the motive for this reckless attack and determine if this was a hate crime.
“Newry is an ethnically diverse city with good community relations and the large Polish community are cherished citizens in this city who contribute to our economy, work hard and add positively to the rich tapestry of backgrounds here.
“Those who carried out this attack do not speak for the people of Newry and they have no regard for life. I totally condemn this reckless act and would ask anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area around the time of the incident to contact the PSNI.”
ENDS
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