The smashed window of a Protestant family’s home in Kells Avenue, west Belfast

A PROTESTANT family has quit its west Belfast home following a sectarian attack at the weekend.

The couple and their young children decided to move out after their home was targeted in the early hours of Sunday morning – the second attack in two months.

The PSNI has now launched an investigation into the hate crime attack.

DUP councillor Brian Kingston said a rock was thrown the living room window of the house at Kells Avenue on the Suffolk estate at 3 am on Sunday morning.

He said a couple with young children who were in the house at the time of the attack escaped uninjured.

The attack was believed to have launched from the car park of the nearby Lidl store.

“This is absolutely disgraceful,” said Councillor Kingston.

“This same house was hit by a petrol bomb in June.”

Last month, there were a spate of attacks on homes and property in the same estate in west Belfast.

Residents, politicians and community leaders later met with police chiefs to discuss the attack.

Police told they had a dedicated team of four officers investigating the attacks and promised to increase patrols in the area.

In the first attack, Four cars and the living room window of a home were damaged in the Ringford Park area by a rampaging crowd of up to 100 nationalist youths.

A silver Renault Clio which was last month by a rampaging 100-strong mob on the Suffolk estate in west Belfast last month

They ran along Blacks Road after they left a house party which was reported as “out of control”.

Days later there were further attacks on homes.

The DUP said said that stones were thrown from the Stewartstown Road into Carnanmore Park and a car windscreen was broken.