Police say seven attacks in 10 days are believed to be the work of a small group of people

Seven racist attacks in 10 days in Belfast are part of an orchestrated campaign by extremists, police have said.

After three homes in the Sydenham area of east Belfast were damaged on Thursday, the local MP, Naomi Long, said the incidents were part of a pattern of anti-Polish hate crimes in the last fortnight.

On Friday a senior police commander said the incidents were being treated as hate crimes.

Chief Inspector Mark McEwan, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: "These attacks, although they are deliberate and they are targeted, we believe are the work of a small group of people and it is not a reflection of the overall way in which minority communities have integrated in east Belfast."

The attacks have taken place in a loyalist area of the city. Long, the Alliance party MP for east Belfast, said: "Such acts of intimidation do not define this part of the city. They are perpetrated by a minority with little or no public support."

Bricks were used to smash windows in two houses at Strandburn Park and another in nearby Victoria Avenue in the Sydenham area. All of the homes targeted are occupied by Polish families.

One Polish woman who has lived in east Belfast for several years said her mother was considering moving out after the attacks. Anna Bloch said her mother and stepfather narrowly escaped injury when a brick was hurled through their front window.

"There has never been any trouble. My mum lived here for two years and in this area for six years and something like that has never happened," said Bloch. "I will be staying, but my mum is thinking about moving away."