Two men, both in their 30s, have been charged with attempted criminal damage and attempted theft after an incident in Lurgan, Co Armagh.RollingNews.ie

Police in Lurgan, Co Armagh announced today, Wednesday, May 3 that they have charged two men following a report of a sectarian hate crime in the Ashleigh Crescent area on Sunday, April 30.

The men, aged 34 and 37, are charged with attempted criminal damage and attempted theft and are expected to appear before Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, May 31, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The PSNI statement noted that as is usual procedure, the charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

Chief Inspector Brendan Green, of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Policing District, said: "The charges follow a report of attempted criminal damage and attempted theft at a house in the Ashleigh Crescent area, which was treated as a sectarian hate crime.

“Police take reports of this nature extremely seriously, everyone has the right to feel safe in their home and we will continue to make every effort to ensure that this happens.

“We have increased patrols in this area to reassure the community that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.

"I encourage anyone who has any concerns in the Lurgan area, or the wider Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon borough, to report them to police.

“You can ring us on 101, report online at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport, or speak directly to your Neighbourhood Team.”

The charges come after men were captured on a Ring security camera on Sunday, April 30 banging and kicking on the door of the 21-year-old single mother’s home and shouting sectarian abuse in the Ashleigh Crescent area of Lurgan, Co Armagh.

The woman, who shared her footage in a public social media post the day after the incident, wrote that she “never thought” she would have to share such a video and that she thought she "would be safe” in the area.

She said the incident occurred around 9 pm on Sunday, around the time she was putting her one-and-a-half-year-old son to bed.

“I heard an awful racket at the door,” she wrote, adding that she and her son are "traumatized" by the "thugs."

“This was for nothing,” she added, “it can't be described as anything but sectarianism pure hatred for me because of my religion.”

The woman wrote: “They are clearly saying in the video below ‘get this Fenian out and 'the taigs in.'"

She continued: “How anyone can justify this is beyond me.

“We should be safe and left to live in peace. I've never caused an issue or had a complaint made against me.”

She added: “Not the first single girl to be targeted [and] made to make leave the area.”

Shockingly, the woman later told Belfast Live: "After the police came, they advised that it could be safer to leave the area and I definitely won't be back to that area ever again.

"The Housing Executive have told me there are no suitable properties for me to go to at the minute so I am having to sofa surf for a while until one becomes available but they have told me that I am a priority."

The incident has been widely condemned by politicians.