A mother and son have narrowly escaped serious injury after a petrol bomb was thrown threw the window of a house in Larne, in an attack linked to ongoing loyalist tensions in the area.
A downstairs window smashed when a petrol bomb was thrown at the house at Walnut Park, shortly after 8am on Friday, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The mother and son managed to escape before Fire and Rescue Services arrived at the scene and extinguished the blaze.
The family who rent the house are now considering leaving the area.
Detective Chief Inspector Dunny McCubbin said: "The device broke the window, ending up in the living room of the property. NIFRS personnel attended and extinguished a fire and made the device safe.
"Two occupants who were in the house at the time of the incident were not injured.
"Our enquiries into this incident are at an early stage but a strong line of enquiry is that it is linked to a number of recent incidents in the Larne area.
"I would appeal to anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the Walnut Park area or who has any information which could assist us with our enquiries to contact detectives in Larne", he added.
It is the latest in a spate of attacks in the area with police saying earlier this week there is a real fear "lives will be lost" in the ongoing feud.
The claim was made by police as a man appeared at Antrim Magistrates Court charged with an arson attack.
A silver Peugeot 206 was driven into the house and then set on fire causing significant damage to the property last weekend.
A hairdressing salon in the town centre was also destroyed in a fire in what police said was a "deliberate attack linked to a gang feud".
Sinn Féin's Oliver McMullan said; "This is the latest of a series of attacks in the town and unless they stop we could be looking at a fatality.
"There are clearly loyalist criminal gangs involved in this and the PSNI need to take action against those responsible, including investigating the assets of those directing these attacks."
