Man beaten in 'race attack'

A man badly beaten by a gang of seven at his home in the North may have been the latest victim of racist attacks, it emerged today.

Two women were among the thugs who attacked the 34-year-old, who is from Eastern Europe, in Co Armagh.

He was taken to hospital with fracture wounds to his ribs and upper body.

The assault happened around midnight in the front garden of the victim’s house in the Alexander area of Armagh city, police said.

A spokesman confirmed: “A racist motive is one of those being investigated by police.”

Attacks on ethnic minorities have risen across the North, with Asians and Africans in a south Belfast loyalist enclave particularly vulnerable.

Police have vowed to crack down on the racists, with specialist units fighting the menace.