The family was attacked in Larne at about 2300 GMT on Wednesday.

A man, who is a Catholic, and his three children in their teens and 20s, were in the house on the Drumahoe road in Millbrook.

They said they did not know why two petrol bombs were thrown at the house.

One just missed a bedroom window, the other did not explode.

It is clear that the thugs who perpetrated this attack need to be taken off the streets Roy Beggs Jnr UUP assembly member

The man said he had lived in the area for 34 years without incident.

The police said they did not believe the attack was sectarian.

Ulster Unionist assembly member Roy Beggs Jnr said it was shocking that such an incident should take place.

"I lived in Millbrook for a time and I know that the local people will be appalled that such an attack should happen in their midst.

"We all know the potentially lethal consequences of petrol bombs and it is clear that the thugs who perpetrated this attack need to be taken off the streets," he said.

Democratic Unionist Party councillor Jack McKee condemned the attack as "a senseless act carried out by people who have no regard for human life".

"This attack does not have the support of the majority of people in Larne," he said.

Meanwhile, an elderly woman suffered shock after a petrol bomb struck the side of her house in the Waterside area of Londonderry.

The attack happened at a house in Bann Drive off Irish Street at 2120 GMT on Wednesday.

The incident is not believed to be sectarian.