A community organisation in Derry have vowed to carry on their work after the front of its building was damaged in an apparent arson attack.
Members of the Creggan Neighbourhood Partnership (CNP) were left shocked on Thursday after a number of bins were allegedly set on fire outside of their main entrance on Central Drive.
The local facility has been at the heart of the Creggan estate for many years and works on behalf of the community to tackle disadvantage, social exclusion and deprivation in the area.
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Pictures of the attack emerged on the organisation's social media pages on December 22 which shows extensive fire damage to the building.
A spokesperson for CNP said: [This is] not what you want to be dealing with any time of the year, but especially the week of Christmas.
"This incident is not just an attack on our centre but the whole community and could have been much worse.
"Our centre has only recently been painted and this needless action once again brings down the whole look of the centre and the surrounding area.
"We have worked tirelessly all year round to deliver services and support our community and this incident will not change that or deter us from working on behalf of the Creggan community we are proud to be part of."
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein councillor for the area, Emma McGinley, said: "The lighting of bins outside the Creggan Neighbourhood Partnership building is a disgrace.
"The team at the Creggan Neighbourhood Partnership do brilliant work for the community in Creggan, and the last thing they need is such vandalism damaging their facilities, especially in the week of Christmas.
"Those responsible should consider their actions and the negative impact it has on the local community."
The PSNI have been contacted for comment but did not respond at the time of publication.
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