A series of racist incidents in Holywood has prompted an open statement from North Down MP Alex Easton and other political, church and community leaders condemning intimidation and hatred.

Police are treating the incidents as racially motivated hate crimes. Graffiti with a racial message appeared last weekend on a path at Seapark. Two weeks earlier, on 2 August, masked youths attacked a family home on Church Green. Two children were injured and a window was smashed. The family, originally from Syria, left the property.

Shortly afterwards, the home of the children's grandparents on Church Road was targeted. Windows were broken and paint was thrown over the property. Further racist and sectarian graffiti was found in a pedestrian underpass, including a swastika, an anti-migrant slur, a Nazi slogan and a phrase associated with the IRA. The graffiti was sprayed across community murals, causing damage.

The signatories said Holywood should be a safe and welcoming town for people of all backgrounds. They stated that the town is a place where everyone should feel safe, respected and valued. They rejected efforts to divide the community through fear or hostility and committed to promoting inclusion, respect and tolerance.

They said the message after the attacks on homes is that all people belong together and that Holywood is a community for everyone.