A married couple and their three-year-old twin sons narrowly escaped injury after a petrol bomb was thrown into their home at Skegoniel Avenue.

A number of other Catholic homes were also damaged when a large crowd of loyalist youths launched an attack with bricks and stones at about 0200 BST on Saturday.

Nine cars were damaged in the incident, including three vehicles which were completely burnt out.

Martin Morgan: Condemned attacks

Two of the vehicles were burnt out in Skegoniel Avenue, while the other was set alight in nearby Glandore Avenue.

Police had to use a Land Rover at one point to move one of the burning vehicles, which was close to a home and in danger of setting it on fire.

'Unprovoked attack'

This is the second such attack on Catholic homes in the area in as many days.

In the early hours of Friday morning, loyalists launched what police described as "an unprovoked sectarian attack".

They attacked Catholic homes in the Ligoniel area of the city.

One house was destroyed in a petrol bomb attack and windows were broken in nine more.

Two paramedics needed hospital treatment after the emergency services were ambushed by stone-throwing youths when called to the area.

His colleague managed to drive away to safety and drag him through to the back of the ambulance to treat him

Ambulance Service spokesman

One was kept in hospital with head injuries after being struck by a breeze block hurled through the side window of his ambulance.

Another paramedic needed treatment to remove glass fragments from his eyes after youths smashed the window of his ambulance.

An officer from the ambulance service said: "The ambulance man in the passenger seat of the first vehicle was knocked unconscious as he was hit on the head by a brick which came through the side window.

"His colleague managed to drive away to safety and drag him through to the back of the ambulance to treat him."

Other ambulance crew members received treatment for shock.

Politicians in north Belfast have condemned the attacks on the homes.

Martin Morgan, SDLP councillor for the area, said it was obvious the attacks were not spontaneous.

"It was clearly a carefully planned and concerted attack designed both to injure and intimidate the area's residents."

Democratic Unionist councillor Nelson McCausland said: "All attacks on homes are wrong. They are also traumatic for the people who suffer and I can sympathise with them."

Sinn Fein councillor Eoin O'Broin said the attack was an attempt to kill.

"You have houses of pensioners attacked, you have houses with young kids attacked, we could have had somebody killed in this district last night," he said.