Four people were taken to hospital for checks after a fire in a flat in Amsterdam, which may have had links to anti-gay violence, according to the NOS.

A resident of the building in Amsterdam West told reporters that some weeks ago they had discovered burnt gay Pride flags and ash on the ground, which they believed had been hanging in the corridors and on people’s doors.

She also said that they had alerted police and the rental organisation after they discovered swastika graffiti. It is unknown what caused the fire, and her girlfriend described it as a ‘hate crime’.

Meanwhile, in Groningen, two men have been arrested for suspected fire raising and attempted murder after Molotov cocktails were thrown inside and next to a journalist’s house earlier this week. Nobody was hurt.