Whether or not there was a racial motive for an attack on a house in Enniskillen is what Resident Magistrate Liam McNally, sitting at Fermanagh Magistrates Court, was trying to find out.

Before the court was twenty-one year old Raymond John Bell from Coleshill Park in Enniskillen who had been convicted, after a contest, of damaging a living room window belonging to Avanda Rooney.

Mr McNally said he believed, from evidence given by a prosecution witness during the contest, that the reason the stone was thrown at the house was because the owner of the house let the house to Polish nationals.

Defending, Ms Fee said the defendant lives at home with his mother who is in a full-time relationship with a Polish national, and that the defendant has a good relationship with him.

Ms Fee said her client has a number of friends from Eastern European background and therefore there would be no reason for a racial motive in this case.

The defendant was described as an unemployed man who has a bricklayers qualification.

The cost of the damage to the window was estimated at £100 which Ms Fee said puts the offence at the lower end of the scale.

The defendant accepts the findings of the court, although he still maintains he didn't break the window.

Sentencing, Resident Magistrate Liam McNally told the defendant he'd been found guilty of breaking a large window of a house by putting a stone through the window without any justification.

"It appears that you took issue with the nationality of the people in this house.

" This court will not tolerate criminal damage for any reason."

The defendant was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years and fined £500.

He was also ordered to pay £100 compensation. An application was made to appeal this sentence and bail of £500 was set for appeal.