Five youngsters hid in cupboard to escape gunfire

Five terrified youngsters hid in a cupboard to escape gunfire today as a gang attacked a rival family on a site used by the travelling community in Belfast.

Up to seven men went on the rampage and opened fire on the house in the west of the city where Martin Gavin lives with his children, sister and mother, who was injured in the onslaught.

It is understood the thugs were quitting the site at Glen Road Heights after a dispute with Mr Gavin and decided to smash up his property before leaving.

One of the children, aged just 14 months, was snatched from a pram by his aunt, Joanne Henry, just seconds before two blasts from a sawn-off shotgun ripped through the front door where he had been sleeping.

As detectives on both sides of the Irish border tonight hunted for a convoy of cars and caravans belonging to the gang, Ms Henry relived the ordeal.

She said: “It was the most frightening experience I have ever had in my life.

“It was terrifying. If I had just delayed it a couple of minutes my little boy wouldn’t be here.”

Only two families had been left living in the specially-built village of tiny bungalows when the violence erupted.

Two cars and a caravan were smashed up before the windows on the house were broken.

As the children dived for cover, their grandmother, aged in her 50s, suffered hand injuries when a gardening tool was hurled through a kitchen window.

A fleet of cars, one with Irish registration plates and another with a broken rear window, then left the area towing caravans.

Acting Superintendent Peter Farrar described the attack as attempted murder.

He said: “This was a brutal and violent attack on this family.

“I would urge any members of the travelling community around Ireland who see this convoy to contact us.”

The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Sinn Fein’s Alex Maskey, was stunned by the attack.

The West Belfast MLA said: “It’s very, very disturbing to hear about such a terrifying ordeal.

“Any right thinking person would want nothing to do with something like this and it’s just fortunate that there were not more serious injuries.”