Londonderry: Woman beaten with hammer in paramilitary-style attack Published duration 27 September 2019

image caption One of the masked men smashed windows in the house, the PSNI said

A woman has been beaten with a hammer, kicked and punched during an assault by a gang of masked men while she was at home with her young children.

It happened in Bloomfield Park, in the Galliagh area of Derry, at about 22:45 BST on Thursday.

Police said the woman was assaulted by two of three masked men who forced their way into the house.

She was taken to hospital for treatment but her injuries are not believed to be life threatening, the PSNI added.

Det Insp Michael Winters it had "all the makings of a paramilitary-style attack."

image caption Police said the assault was a 'trauamtic ordeal' for the victim and her children

'Traumatic ordeal'

"She was punched and slapped, and hit around the legs with a hammer," he said.

While the woman was being assaulted in a downstairs room, a third man smashed windows and mirrors throughout the house, Det Insp Winters added.

"This was a violent attack on a female. Furthermore, her three young children were home at the time.," he said.

"And, while physically uninjured, they have been left badly shaken. It was a traumatic ordeal, which no family should ever have to experience," he said.

image copyright Google image caption The attack happened in Bloomfield Park, in the Galliagh area of Derry

Sinn Féin councillor Aileen Mellon condemned the attack and said there was sense of shock locally.

"For any child to have to deal with that, its not something they will forget easily - it will have a lasting impact," she said.

It is the second paramilitary-style attack in the area in just over 24 hours.

On Wednesday, a man was shot in both legs in what police described as a "a vicious and brutal shooting".