St Malachy’s Church in the Markets which was attacked with paint in the early hours of Friday morning

SDLP leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell has condemned those who threw paint at a Catholic church in the Markets district of south Belfast as “mindless vandals.”

The south Belfast MP hit out after the attack on St Malachy’s Church in Alfred Street was reported to police and took place between 7 am and 7.30 am on Friday.

Dr McDonnell, who is also the MLA in the area, said: “Such mindless vandalism serves no purpose and undermines all the good work invested in cross community work across South Belfast.”

In recent weeks, there has been a spate of sectarian ‘hate crime’ attacks against Catholic Churches and Orange Halls across the province.