Police treat south Belfast fire as racially-motivated crime

Police are treating a fire in south Belfast as a racially-motivated hate crime.

The blaze broke out just after half past three this morning at commercial premises in the Sandy Row area.

No one was injured but significant damage and disruption was caused.

Officers are keen to speak to two males who were seen in the area before the incident - they're described as wearing all black clothing.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “I would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything, or who may have dashcam, CCTV, or other footage, to contact us on 101, quoting reference 198 of 18/8/23”.

"Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.

"You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/."