Image caption The family had been living in the house in Ballygomartin Drive for less than five weeks

A 22-year-old man has been beaten with iron bars and a hatchet by a gang of men in a suspected sectarian assault on the outskirts of west Belfast.

A gang of masked men broke into a house at Ballygomartin Drive on Friday shortly before 21:40 BST and attacked him with iron bars and a hatchet.

They beat the man, who is a Catholic, in front of his girlfriend and their eleven-week-old baby.

Sectarian graffiti was daubed on the house claiming to be from the UDA.

The couple had been living in the home for less than five weeks.

A red car parked outside was also damaged in the attack.

Police have appealed for information.