A SECURITY gate in north Belfast has been closed for the first time in 20 years after the home of a Catholic family was targeted in a suspected sectarian attack.
The house, which faces the Crumlin Road in Ardoyne, was targeted by masked men armed with hammers and crowbars at around 12.30am on Wednesday.
A couple and their three children were in the house when the gang, believed to be loyalists, struck.
The PSNI last night said they are treating the attack as a hate crime.
It is the third time in three months houses in the area have been targeted.
It is believed the attacks may be linked to plans to remove a peace wall which separates the houses from the Crumlin Road.
It is understood that the majority of local people are happy to see the wall taken down but some loyalists from nearby areas may be opposed to the move.
To date each of the attacks has coincided with developments to remove the wall.
Ardoyne residents were due to meet later this week to discuss details of the project.
The homeowner, who does not want to be named, said he was sitting in his living room when his windows were smashed by the gang.
He said his young family has been left shaken by the experience.
"My son has autism and he will not come back to the house," he said.
"My wife would not sleep here last night."
The father-of-three said he will not be forced from the area. He said a security gate allowing access to the Crumlin Road was locked in the early hours of Wednesday for the first time in two decades.
"It’s one thing having paint bombs, it’s another thing looking out your window and seeing grown men with balaclavas and hammers," he said.
"My issue is not with the wall.
"My major issue is my kids and there has to be security for the kids.
"They have to keep the wall until they come up with something."
Community worker Rab McCallum from the North Belfast Interface Network said the recent spate of attacks appear to be linked to plans to remove the wall.
"There is heightened tensions, people are more concerned now than they were six months ago," he said.
"It’s not an upsurge in inter-communal violence, but to stop the work going ahead."
PSNI Inspector James Ellson said: "It was reported that two windows at the front of the house were broken at around 12.30am by up to three masked men who made off from the scene citywards, on foot, along the Crumlin Road.
"This incident is being treated as a hate crime and enquiries into the matter are ongoing."
