Alderman's car comes under attack at Strabane Old Road

Mrs Hamilton was driving her vehicle, a hatchback, past a residential area when it came under attack on Saturday night from a gang of young people.

She said there were eight or nine youths and girls involved in the incident, which occurred late in the evening.

"I don't know why these children were outside at that time of the night. I would love to know why parents allow children so young outside after 10pm," she said.

Although unscathed, Mrs Hamilton said it has been an intimidating experience for her and her passengers, and said condemned those responsible for indulging in this type of reckless behaviour.

"I'm not against children having innocent fun in the snow, but deliberately targeting cars with sustained snowballing is dangerous, and a nervous or inexperienced driver could have an accident under such circumstances. Despite their age, these young people must know that doing this could cause an accident, and someone could be left without their car or could be very badly injured if they crash," she said.

"I am appealing to parents across the district to keep an eye on their children and to explain the dangers of this type of behaviour to them before a tragedy happens."