A FAMILY in Antrim whose car was torched fear the attack may have been racially motivated, Sinn Féin has said.
The attack happened in the town's Rathenraw estate early on Wednesday.
Sinn Fein said the car was owned by a family originally from eastern Europe who only moved to their home on Somerset Parade around two months ago.
It was the latest in a spate of arson attacks in the town.
Last month a car was torched and two others caught fire in Aghaboy Gardens.
Sinn Féin MLA Declan Kearney said: "Once again a local family has been traumatised and left to pick up the pieces following another cowardly attack carried out in the early hours while the victims were asleep in their beds".
He said his party colleague Noel Maguire, who lives nearby, helped the family.
"As foreign nationals they were feeling extremely vulnerable and feared they had been the targets of a racially motivated attack," he said.
Mr Kearney appealed to the community to report anything suspicious to police.
"There is a real danger that more such attacks could now happen anywhere in Antrim, so it is essential everyone remains vigilant," he said.
"The local community should stand together and help the PSNI bring this criminality to an end by getting those responsible into court and off our streets."
