THREE people escaped unharmed after an arson attack on a house in South Belfast.
Police were alerted to the blaze at 10.10pm at Vernon Court in the Botanic area on Sunday night.
A bin had been deliberately set alight at the front door of the residential property, causing considerable damage.
Three people were inside at the time and escaped unharmed through the back of the property.
Detective Sergeant Long said: "We could potentially have been dealing with much more serious consequences this morning and are treating this as arson with intent to endanger life.
“We’re really grateful to the local community for their support for our investigation, and the victims, to date and would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time, or who may have relevant information, including dash-cam or other footage, to contact us on 101, quoting reference 1437 01/02/26.
Alternatively, you can submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
