'I came to help people - then my home was attacked'

A healthcare worker says she no longer feels safe in Northern Ireland after her home was attacked.

Lanie said she had moved to Ballyclare five months ago to take up a job helping others, and thought the County Antrim village was peaceful.

But she came home from work on Wednesday to find a brick had been thrown through her front window and her car's windscreen smashed.

"I did not expect this to happen here in my area. I told my parents I was safe. My area is peaceful", she told BBC News NI.

Lanie’s parents back in the Philippines were worried about their daughter and eight-year-old granddaughter when they read about racist rioting in Belfast.

"I like it here, I came here to support the people here. I love doing this job and then suddenly, an experience like this, it’s really hard. I am still in shock," she said.

In the Philippines, Lanie was a mechanical engineer.

But she said she loved helping people so in Northern Ireland she found work in healthcare.

"I know we are just foreigners here and not really local people so I wish they would accept us, what we do is serve their people, we came here to work not to harm their country," she said.

"Now I don’t know if I should stay or not, but hopefully it will be sorted out."

"I have to move on, continue life, forgive those people and I still pray they will not do this to others".

There have been a series of racially-motivated attacks and violent disorder since Saturday, following an anti-immigration protest in Belfast.

Police have made a number of arrests since the weekend.

There has been widespread disorder across the UK - which erupted after the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport - with unrest fuelled by misinformation online.

With help from her landlord and neighbour, Lanie has organised for the glass to be fixed before her daughter returns to the house.

"I don’t want her to know about this situation. I don’t want her to be involved in this. I want her to still like Northern Ireland and I don’t want her to have a dramatic experience," she said.

Lanie's landlord told BBC News NI he was horrified by what had happened and he had installed CCTV.

"The tenant is a hard working healthcare worker who is very well respected by her neighbours," he said.

"This act is not a reflection of the immediate area."

Police are investigating a report of criminal damage after the attack on Lanie's home and are treating it is a raciall-motivated hate crime.