Football flags set on fire in Belfast

A west Belfast mother and her family were forced to flee after vandals set fire to football flags and bunting at their home.

The house near the Shankill Road was covered in Chelsea colours before the FA Cup Final.

Valerie McMurtry said the Saturday morning blaze could have become a tragedy.

A police spokesman said: “At 3.35am police were made aware that the front window of a house at Upper Charleville Street, north Belfast, had been damaged by fire.

“Initial inquiries suggest that football flags, which had been hanging outside the window, had been set alight.”