Sinn Féin MLA Liz Kimmins has strongly condemned an arson attack on a number of cars in Derrybeg at around midnight last night including the car of a heavily pregnant woman. 

The Newry and Armagh MLA said: 

“I condemn last night’s arson attack which saw a number of cars burned, including that of a heavily pregnant woman, which has caused her and her husband huge stress. 

“This is a disgusting attack on this close knit community who are in total shock this morning.  

“My colleague, councillor Charlie Casey, and I have spoken with a couple who had their car and work van burned in this incident and were extremely shook up.  

“We are very lucky that no-one was seriously injured or worse in this very dangerous incident as the work van contained highly flammable products which if ignited could potentially have caused an explosion.  

“The wider implications of this attack are the fear and anxiety caused to the victims and the Derrybeg community, as well as the negative impact on people’s livelihoods. 

“Over the weekend we saw the stark images which demonstrated the severe pressure our local hospital, Daisy Hill and our emergency services are under and this anti-community behaviour further compounds this. 

“I have emphasised to the PSNI the need for a strong, proactive response in dealing with this and would urge anyone with any information relating to this to contact the PSNI.”