NEWS

Ballymena man Colin Agnew reaches the Final of BBC NI’s Greatest Gardens A Ballymena gardener whose suburban home has been transformed into a hidden botanical wonderland has secured the fourth and last place in the upcoming final of BBC Northern Ireland’s Greatest Gardens, after impressing judges with a design described as full of “mystery and intrigue”. Colin Agnew, head gardener at Belfast’s Botanic Gardens , captured the attention of viewers and judges alike for his imagin

Members of the Dougies Goodies team with staff from Applegreen Ballymena A26, marking a 100 retail store partnership across Northern Ireland A Ballymena launch has marked a major milestone for one of Northern Ireland’s best-known local bakery brands, with Dougies Goodies officially opening at Applegreen Ballymena A26 as its 100th stockist location across Northern Ireland. The opening represents a significant moment for the fast-growing business, which says it is “thrilled” to

A man in his 50s has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after a collision involving a car and a pedestrian in Larne on Monday evening, with police now appealing for witnesses and dash-cam footage. The incident happened in the Circular Road area of Larne at approximately 5.20pm on Monday, 13 April. Police said the collision involved a black Vauxhall Astra and a male pedestrian aged in his 50s. Emergency services, including colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulan

A man in his 20s has been arrested after a shop in Antrim was extensively damaged in an arson attack in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Police were called to the incident in the Greystone Road area of the town at approximately 3.35am on Tuesday 14 April, following reports that a business premises was on fire. Officers attended the scene alongside crews from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, who worked to extinguish the blaze. While no injuries were reported, t

(All photographs: Ewan Harkness) A brand-new The Food Warehouse store has officially opened in Ballymena, with 77 eager shoppers already waiting in line before the doors opened on Tuesday morning. The much-anticipated new store, located at Braidwater Retail Park, Ballymena, Antrim, BT42 3AG, welcomed its first customers on Tuesday 14 April, marking a major retail expansion for the town and delivering 23 additional jobs for the local community. In scenes that underlined the le

Barr’s grave in Connor New Cemetery. Alan with his father Roy and children, James and Maria Eighty-five years after one of the darkest nights in Northern Ireland’s wartime history, Braid Ulster Unionist Councillor Alan Barr has paid a deeply personal tribute to members of his own family and to a young Ballymena police officer whose lives were lost during the Belfast Blitz. As communities across Northern Ireland pause this week to mark the anniversary of the devastating Luftw

The RNLI has issued its own urgent Mayday call after new figures revealed its volunteer lifeboat crews across Northern Ireland were launched 235 times in 2025, bringing 214 people to safety, including three lives saved. The newly released data, published today by the lifesaving charity, also shows that 80 of those call-outs took place in darkness, underlining the scale and intensity of demand facing volunteer crews at the region’s 10 lifeboat stations. Alongside the lifeboat

Belfast’s landmark Odyssey complex is to be renamed The O2 Belfast under a new long-term partnership announced today, in a major rebrand that will reshape one of Northern Ireland’s best-known entertainment destinations from this summer. The 10-year naming rights agreement, confirmed on Tuesday 14 April 2026, will see O2 become the official naming rights partner of the entire site, with the new name taking effect from 1 July 2026. The move marks one of the most significant com

Jim Wylie, 60 A man in his 60s has died following a two-vehicle road traffic collision in Ballymena on Monday morning, with police appealing for witnesses and dash-cam footage as enquiries continue. The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that local man Jim Wylie, 60 , died at the scene after the collision involving a car and a motorcycle in the Crankill Road area. The crash happened at approximately 10.25am on Monday, 13 April, at the junction of Crankill Road and T

Ballymena Academy Year 11 pupils Samantha Dunlop and Katie McNeilly Two Ballymena Academy pupils have stepped into the fast-paced world of professional media and digital storytelling as they continue their journey as finalists in the 2026 ABP Angus Youth Challenge, combining science, agriculture and communications in a project with real-world relevance for Northern Ireland’s farming sector. Year 11 pupils Samantha Dunlop and Katie McNeilly are among the finalists in the prest

A man in his 40s was stabbed several times with a pair of scissors after opening the door of his Ballymena flat to two intruders in what police are treating as an aggravated burglary. Detectives have launched an appeal for information following the violent incident at a property in Andena Grange on Saturday evening, 11 April, during which the victim was also robbed of personal belongings. The attack was reported to have taken place sometime between 8.30pm and 10pm when two ma

Monday in the House of Commons, North Antrim MP Jim Allister challenged the Prime Minister on announcing a cut to fuel duty to relieve pressure on drivers, farmers and businesses across the UK Motorists, farmers and businesses across Northern Ireland facing soaring fuel costs were given no immediate promise of tax relief on Monday after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Government’s main focus remains reopening the Strait of Hormuz and easing global supply pressures. T

Ballymena Town Hall Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s interim chief executive was paid £151,725 in 2024-25, placing the borough among the higher-paid councils in Northern Ireland as the latest Town Hall Rich List records a new UK-wide high in six-figure local authority remuneration. Across Northern Ireland’s 11 councils, 59 employees received total remuneration of more than £100,000 in 2024-25, up from 51 the previous year, while all Northern Ireland councils also increas

Hugh McGill and members of Ballycastle Runners welcoming another year’s sponsorship by McAuley Freight Ltd, represented by Aaron McAuley (right), as Marconi’s 5 Mile Race returns in Ballycastle. Ballycastle is set for another major day on the local sporting calendar next month as the Marconi’s 5 Mile Race returns on Sunday, 24 May 2026, with organisers confirming that McAuley Freight Ltd has joined Ballycastle Runners for a third consecutive year as one of the event’s main sp

Police are appealing for information after a car was deliberately set alight in Ballymena in the early hours of Monday morning, with a petrol bomb discovered on top of the vehicle. The incident happened around 6.20am on Monday, 13 April, prompting a response from police and firefighters. On Monday morning police teams were seen with the vehicle in the area of Kintyre Park in the Ballykeel 1 estate in the town. The vehicle sustained damage to its boot area, and detectives are

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons and Health Minister Mike Nesbitt are pictured with Anne-Marie Kelly during a visit to the Kelly home which was modified for Anne-Marie’s son Conor through the Disabled Facilities Grant. A County Down family has spoken of the “life-changing” impact of major home adaptations funded through Northern Ireland’s Disabled Facilities Grant, as two Stormont ministers pledged further reforms to strengthen support for households living with disability.

A woman has been taken to hospital following a three-vehicle road traffic collision in Bellaghy on Sunday evening, with police now appealing for witnesses and motorists with dashcam footage to come forward. The crash happened in the Ballymacombs Road area of Bellaghy shortly after 6.30pm on Sunday, April 12, prompting an emergency response and the temporary closure of the road. Police said the woman’s injuries are not believed to be serious at this time. The road remained clo

North Antrim MP Jim Allister and Cloughmills Early Years playgroup The growing dispute over nursery places in Cloughmills has now widened into a broader North Antrim row after MP Jim Allister accused the Education Authority of failing pre-school children across the constituency. In a sharply critical statement, Mr Allister said the EA’s “inflexible and dogma driven policy” is leaving children without suitable local places in communities including Cloughmills, Armoy and The

North Antrim MP Jim Allister Households, farmers and haulage operators across Northern Ireland could soon see Westminster pressure mount for emergency tax relief on soaring fuel costs after North Antrim MP Jim Allister formally moved to bring the issue before the House of Commons. With diesel in Ballymena now reaching 189.9p per litre and unleaded climbing to 154.9p per litre, Mr Allister has this evening, Sunday 12 April, written to the Speaker of the House of Commons seeki

Queen’s University Belfast Queen’s marks 175 years of opening education beyond campus with new spring programme Queen’s University Belfast is celebrating a remarkable 175 years of extramural education, continuing a long-standing tradition of making university-level learning accessible to the wider public through its latest Open Learning spring programme. The milestone marks nearly two centuries since the University first began offering classes “outside the walls” of the inst