A man has said his young family have been left terrified after racist graffiti appeared on their home in Ballykelly, County Londonderry.

Shinu Mathew, who lives with his wife and two children, aged seven and four, told BBC News NI that they considered leaving the area following the incident but neighbours had persuaded them to stay.

Graffiti appeared on three homes in the Fort Drive and Forest Drive areas of the village between 03.00 BST and 04.00 on Tuesday morning, and is being treated as a hate crime by police.

Among those targeted by graffiti were an elderly woman and another couple, Sinn Féin councillor Dermot Nicholl has said.

“When I hear a car pass at night I now go to the window to check,” Mr Mathew said.

Police have assured him that there will be an increased police presence in the area following the incident.

One neighbour, who did not want to give their name, said they were disgusted by what happened to this “lovely family”, describing it as “totally outrageous”.

“They are a lovely family and the wains all play together,” the neighbour said.

“There was about twenty of us out with thinners and bleach trying to clean it [the graffiti] all up for them.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Dermot Nicholl condemned the attacks and said the whole community has been left shocked by what has happened.

He praised neighbours whole rallied around those impacted.

“It’s not nice for anyone and these types of attacks aren’t warranted at all,” Mr Nicholl said.

“Ballykelly is a small commuter village, it is a relatively quiet area and people have been really shocked by this.”

Mr Nicholl has said that he cannot understand the rationale behind this and that those responsible do not represent the wider Ballykelly community.

“I don’t understand this – it doesn’t make any sense – it’s not warranted and not needed,” he said.

“People from different cultures all live in this area, they contribute to this community and have a right to live here.”

Mr Nicholl appealed for anyone with information about the attacks to contact the police.