North Down petrol bomb attack sets car alight amid ‘drug gangs feud’

Police have issued an appeal for information about what they termed a petrol bomb attack in Ballywalter on Friday evening. A PSNI spokesperson said officers received a report just before 11pm that a car had been set alight outside a property in the Greyabbey Road area.

"Officers along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended and the fire was extinguished," they said. "This is being treated as arson and detectives are investigating a possible link to the ongoing feud between rival drugs gangs across Ards and North Down.

"Anyone who may have seen anyone suspicious in the area at the time of the fire or anyone with dashcam or CCTV footage that could assist with inquiries is asked to contact detectives on 101 quoting reference 2240 of 21/04/23."

Last month there were several days of violence linked to the loyalist dispute in Co Down. A number of properties were attacked in the Ards and North Down area in the dispute between drugs gangs which police have said are made up of expelled members of the UDA.