'Disgusting' racist graffiti treated as hate crime

Racist graffiti which was sprayed at a number of locations in Holywood, County Down, has been described as "absolutely disgusting" by an Alliance assembly member.

Offensive messages on a coastal path at Seapark beach and at nearby accommodation used by residents aged over 55 were photographed at the weekend.

North Down assembly member Connie Egan said it was the latest in a "spate of completely unacceptable racist, xenophobic and sectarian graffiti" in the town.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said they were treating it as "a hate-motivated crime".

"There's nothing to gain from defacing your own community," Egan told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"Whoever is responsible for this should be absolutely ashamed."

She said she has spoken to the PSNI about extra resources to tackle the issue.

"It's clearly a problem - it happened last month, it happened two weeks ago and it happened again last night."

Racist graffiti was sprayed along the seafront in July and more was daubed on a subway at Strand Avenue at the start of this month.

Egan said the graffiti "doesn't represent the overwhelming majority of residents there who want to see Holywood as an inclusive and welcoming town where everybody feels safe and welcome".

Ulster Unionist Party councillor Pete Wray, who sits on the Police and Community Safety Partnership for Ards and North Down, said he did not think there was an organised element to the racist graffiti.

"First on all, there can be no justification for racist graffiti that appears anywhere. It's not representative of the community," Wray told the BBC's Evening Extra programme.

"This could be one or two people, a very, very small minority of people who are involved in this. I would ask them to desist."

In a statement, the PSNI said they were "aware of offensive graffiti in the Holywood area" and were making enquiries to determine when the damage was caused.

"There is no place in our society for this type of behaviour," they said as they appealed for anyone with information to contact them.

In a separate incident, there were two reports of criminal damage at a house in north Belfast over the weekend.

Both incidents are being treated as racially-motivated hate crimes.

Police received a report on Sunday morning that graffiti had been sprayed on the house in the Forthriver Road area between 22:00 BST on Saturday and 07:00 BST on Sunday.

A front door window pane was also damaged.

Police received a further report at about 00:45 BST on Monday that a living room window at the same property was smashed.