NEWS

Sentenced: 45-year-old Stephen Kennedy Friday 09 October 2026 A Belfast man who attacked a woman with a hatchet when she tried to hide from him has been sentenced to eight years at Laganside Crown Court. Stephen Kennedy, 45, admitted grievous bodily harm with intent aggravated by domestic abuse before his case reached trial. He was sentenced today. The woman, who was 49 at the time of the attack, suffered skull fractures, serious wounds to her head and back, and extensive blo

Wednesday 07 October 2026 A 31-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder following a reported stabbing in Coleraine town centre. Detectives investigating the incident in the Railway Road area on Tuesday, 6 October, have also charged the man with possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and threats to kill. Man due before court in Ballymena The man is due to appear before Coleraine Magistrates’ Court, sitting in Ballymena, on Thursday, 8 October. As is nor

Jailed: 22-year-old Ballymena man Neil Baguley Monday 05 October 2026 A 22-year-old Ballymena man has been sentenced to four years over his involvement in serious disorder in the town in June 2025, including an attack on police officers and vehicles with a petrol bomb. Neil Baguley was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Monday for the offences of riot and criminal damage. He will spend two years in custody, with the remaining two years on licence. Petrol bomb attack captured

Monday 05 October 2026 A 25-year-old man has been charged with blackmail and threatening to disclose private sexual images following an investigation by detectives in Cookstown CID. The man was arrested at Magherafelt PSNI station on Sunday, 4 October, in connection with a number of alleged online offences. Due before court today Police said he has now been charged with blackmail and threatening to disclose private sexual images. He is due to appear before Londonderry Magistr

Coleraine Magistrates’ Court Friday 02 October 2026 A 24-year-old Coleraine woman has been fined £1,500 after admitting offences involving the unlawful possession of unauthorised prescription medicines intended for sale or supply. Alana Dalton, of Kenton Drive, appeared at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court today in relation to five offences under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. She received fines totalling £1,500 along with a £15 offender levy. Medicines seized from Colerain

Friday 25 September 2026 A County Antrim farmer has been fined £3,000 after a slurry spill caused a fish kill and pollution travelled approximately nine kilometres downstream, affecting two County Antrim rivers. John Stewart, 35, of Boyland Road, Ballymoney pleaded guilty at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court to a water pollution offence. Alongside the fine, he was ordered to pay a £15 Offenders Levy and agreed to repay £1,929.80 in fish kill remediation costs. Failed valve allowed

Tuesday 22 September 2026 A Ballyclare builder has been given a suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of six fraud offences in a case involving a Belfast homeowner who paid more than £32,000 for an extension that was left substantially unfinished. The homeowner had agreed a £32,000 price with Kyle Agnew, 38, of Charles Drive, Ballyclare, who was trading as KA Building Services. By February 2022, £31,825 had been paid, but major elements of the project remained in

Sentenced following Ballymena riots in June 2025: (L-R) Joel Gordon and Stephen Ritchie Friday 18 September 2026 Two men have received custodial sentences for their involvement in serious disorder in Ballymena during which bottles, masonry and fireworks were thrown at police. Stephen Ritchie, 28, from Bangor was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Friday to 34 months, with 12 months to be served in custody and the remainder on licence, after being convicted of riot. Joel Gordo

Jailed: Cullybackey man Adam Connolly A Cullybackey man has been sentenced to four years after unlawfully entering and damaging a Ballymena home while a terrified family hid in the attic for almost five hours during the disorder that engulfed the town last year. Adam Connolly, 34, was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court today, Wednesday 16 September, after being convicted of burglary with intent to cause unlawful damage. He will spend half of the four-year sentence in custody and

Sentenced: Larne man Dean Huxley A Larne man has been sentenced to 32 months in connection with serious disorder which saw a leisure centre attacked and set alight during violence police say was motivated by racial hatred. Dean Huxley, 33, from Larne, was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court today, Tuesday 15 September, after being convicted of riot. He will spend 14 months in custody, with the remaining 18 months on licence. Leisure centre attacked and set alight The conviction r

Jailed: 48-year-old Alan Potter A 48-year-old Antrim businessman who sexually abused young female employees over a period spanning more than two decades has been jailed for four years. Alan Potter, from Antrim, was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Friday (11 September) for 13 non-recent sexual offences, including gross indecency, sexual assault, sexual communication with a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity. Potter owned a local takeaway food business an

Jailed: Ballymena man Bradley Douglas A Ballymena man identified by police as one of the “main instigators” of rioting in the town last summer has been sentenced to five years, with half of the term to be spent in custody. Bradley Douglas, 28, was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court today, Wednesday 9 September, after being convicted of riot and burglary with intent to cause unlawful damage. He was given a five-year sentence, comprising 30 months in custody and 30 months on licen

Jailed: County Antrim man Curtis Archibald A County Antrim man who groomed a girl and threatened to share images he had forced her to send him has been jailed, as his victim urged others experiencing abuse to come forward. Curtis Archibald, 26, from Bushmills, was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Tuesday 8 September to three years, comprising 18 months in custody and 18 months on licence. He was sentenced for 11 offences and also received a seven-year Sexual Offences Preven

Jailed: Samuel McCaughey, 35, from County Armagh A County Armagh man has been jailed after filming police vehicles inside the yard of Lurgan Police Station and distributing the footage through social media. Samuel McCaughey, 35, from Lurgan, was sentenced at Laganside Crown Court on Tuesday after being convicted of two terrorism-related offences under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The case dates back more than six years to May 2020, when McCaughey entered Lurgan Polic

Former chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Anne Donaghy, and (inset) UUP Party Leader Jon Burrows Ulster Unionist Party leader and North Antrim MLA Jon Burrows has called for former Mid and East Antrim Borough Council chief executive Anne Donaghy to be stripped of her OBE following her conviction on two charges connected to the deletion of an email to prevent its disclosure under Freedom of Information law. Mr Burrows has written to the Honours Forfeiture

An Antrim couple have been handed suspended prison sentences and banned from keeping animals for five years after a severely malnourished dog was found living in filthy conditions without access to water. Jason Gallagher and Aleshia McLaverty, both of Islandbawn Drive, Antrim, were sentenced at Antrim Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 26 August after pleading guilty to separate offences relating to the welfare of a terrier-cross dog. Gallagher pleaded guilty to failing to ensur

Former Mid and East Antrim Borough Council chief executive Anne Donaghy Former Mid and East Antrim Borough Council chief executive Anne Donaghy has been convicted of two charges connected to deleting or attempting to delete an email to prevent disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Donaghy, 56, of Clonmore Road, Dungannon, was fined a total of £1,500 following a trial at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court. The charges on which she was convicted concerned an email sent to

A High Court ruling that the Parades Commission acted unlawfully in its handling of the Drumcree parade has triggered demands for the entire Commission to resign, with political pressure now expected to move to Westminster. Mr Justice McAlinden today quashed the Commission’s determination preventing Portadown District Orange Order from completing its traditional church parade along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown. The court outcome represents a significant d

A Co Antrim beautician has received a suspended prison sentence and fines totalling £3,600 after being convicted of unlawfully possessing prescription medicines intended for sale or supply from an aesthetics clinic operating at her home. Nadine Poole, 39, of Whitehill Lodge, Lisburn, was sentenced at Lisburn Magistrates’ Court after previously being found guilty of 12 offences under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and a further offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Ulster Unionist Party Leader and North Antrim MLA Jon Burrows The sentence imposed on a former dementia care worker convicted of abusing vulnerable patients cannot be referred to the Court of Appeal for review under current Northern Ireland law, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has confirmed. The update has prompted Ulster Unionist Party Leader and North Antrim MLA Jon Burrows to call for changes to sentencing laws and the powers available to the Director of Public Prosec