A CATHOLIC man recovering from a serious fall says he has been forced to flee his home after it was targeted by the UVF in a sectarian attack.
Three windows were smashed at the front of Conor Milligan's house at Dunville Park in Holywood, Co Down.
Mr Milligan says he believes he was targeted simply because his Facebook page includes pictures of him wearing a Celtic top and of hunger striker Bobby Sands.
The 37-year-old said police stood guard outside the property as he collected belongings before moving to temporary accommodation in Belfast.
"They attacked the house trying to get to me. They smashed the glass trying to force their way in," the father-of-two said.
"I know it's the UVF. They say they're doing away with criminality – but now I'm homeless because of them.
"It started out because they saw me wearing a Celtic top and there was a picture of Bobby Sands on my Facebook."
Mr Milligan, originally from west Belfast, said he has been living in social housing in Holywood for just over a year.
He said he was shopping at Tesco when a neighbour phoned to alert him to the vandalism.
Neighbours told him four men emerged from a black van and targeted his home with bars and baseball bats.
"They were hell bent on getting into the house to get me," he said.
"If I had been home – I only just missed them by 15 minutes – I definitely could not have defended myself, and I know for a fact that the UVF was behind the attack."
He added: "They put me out of that area because of my religion and nothing else."
Mr Milligan said he recently suffered numerous broken bones in a fall while out rabbit hunting with his dog, and has had to use a wheelchair and crutches while recovering.
The unemployed father-of-two, whose daughters stay with him at weekends, said he has previously been threatened by the UVF.
He said just two hours before his home was targeted, a man pulled up in a car outside and threatened to "break my other leg".
The PSNI last night said the incident at this stage is being treated as a sectarian hate crime.
A spokesman said: "Police are investigating an incident of criminal damage at a house at Dunville Park in Holywood on Friday October 23. Three windows at the front of the house were reportedly smashed at around 5.30pm.
"Inspector Gregory Smyth is appealing to anyone who witnessed this incident or who noticed any suspicious activity in the area to contact police in Newtownards on 101. Information can also be given anonymously throught Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
Earlier this month a new Loyalist Community Council was launched with the backing of the UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando groups.
They said they are "re-committing" to the Good Friday Agreement and "eschew all violence and criminality".
