Outsiders blamed for 'race hate' attack

Outsiders were blamed today for an apparent racist attack which forced four people from East Timor to flee their home in Co Tyrone.

Nobody was hurt when the house was ransacked by a gang of masked men carrying baseball bats and an iron bar.

A neighbour’s BMW car in Belvedere Park, Dungannon, was also destroyed after being set alight.

The four, who speak Portuguese, spent the night in hotel accommodation and have told friends they will not be returning to the house.

Dungannon SDLP councillor Vincent Currie said: “I don’t think anybody local was involved in this. The car burned didn’t belong to them, and I believe outsiders were responsible.”