The home of a couple aged in their 70s was one of a number of houses in Alliance Avenue also targeted by petrol bombers.

The man was taken to hospital suffering from shock.

Rival gangs of youths clashed in the Twaddle, Cranbrook and Ardoyne areas but there were no reports of any injuries.

Meanwhile, a juvenile is due in court on Thursday in connection with rioting at Ardoyne shop fronts on 12 July. He is the 15th person to be charged.

Earlier on Wednesday night, three children, including a three-month-old baby, were splattered with paint during an attack at a house in north Belfast.

A gang of four youths attacked three homes in Cliftondene Gardens at about 1730 BST. Loyalists are being blamed.

The children - a girl aged six, a boy under two and the baby - also suffered minor cuts in the incident.

Crate of bottles

Earlier, windows were smashed at a Protestant family's home in nearby Alliance Gardens.

In the Cliftondene Gardens incident, a petrol bomb hit the wall of a house, while paint attacks broke windows and showered a woman with glass.

It is understood the two young boys are related and the girl is a friend.

The gang escaped on foot leaving behind a crate of bottles filled with paint. Sinn Fein said they had meant to target more Catholic homes.

During the attacks, a Catholic mother ran outside to plead with the gang not to throw paint at her house because her two-year-old son was playing outside.

But the gang attacked the house anyway.

The police said they had recovered a number of "unused paint bombs" close to the scene and have appealed for local community representatives to use their influence to stop these attacks.

Superintendent Gary White condemned the attacks.

Sinn Fein councillor Danny Lavery said Wednesday evening's attacks were sectarian.

(BBC)

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