NEWS

Ballymena Magistrates’ Court A dog owner has been prosecuted after a serious incident in which a dog strayed and attacked a child, prompting enforcement action and a court ruling in Ballymena. Owner prosecuted after child attacked by dog Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council brought the case under the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 (as amended) following an investigation into the attack. Council enforcement officers identified Ms Geraldine Millen, from the Toome area, a

Lee Foods Oriental Supermarket, Belfast A Belfast supermarket has been fined £100,000 after pleading guilty to health and safety offences linked to a fatal workplace accident involving one of its employees. Lee Foods Oriental Supermarket was sentenced at Belfast Magistrates Court on Friday 1 May 2026 following the death of warehouse operative Mr Wei Wang, who died days after sustaining injuries in a fall at the premises. Fatal workplace accident The incident occurred on 15 Au

A 29-year-old man has been charged to court following a fatal two-vehicle collision in the Nutts Corner area on Sunday 26 April, in which a teenage boy lost his life. The man, who had been arrested in the aftermath of the crash, has now been charged with causing death by dangerous driving along with a number of other offences. Court appearance scheduled He is due to appear before Limavady Magistrates’ Court today, Wednesday 29 April. The charges come as part of the ongoing in

A 77-year-old man has been jailed for historic child sexual abuse offences spanning more than four decades, with survivors describing the lifelong trauma they endured and calling on others to break their silence. William Lloyd Lavery, from Lisburn, was sentenced at Laganside Crown Court on Tuesday, April 28, to two years’ imprisonment for six counts of indecent assault against children. The court heard that between 1976 and 1978, Lavery sexually assaulted four girls all aged

A 53-year-old man is to appear in court after detectives seized suspected drugs worth an estimated £4 million at Larne Harbour, in a significant operation targeting organised crime networks operating across Northern Ireland and the wider island of Ireland. The development follows a major joint investigation involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Organised Crime Branch and the An Garda Síochána National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau, working together under the Joi

Jailed: Curtis Dunlop (23) A 23-year-old man who took part in sustained rioting on the streets of Ballymena during three nights of disorder last summer has been jailed for 32 months, as police reiterated their commitment to pursuing all those involved in the violence. Kurtis Dunlop, 23, was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Monday, 20 April, after pleading guilty to the offence of riot linked to the disturbances that erupted in June 2025. He will serve half of the sentence —

A 43-year-old man has been charged following the security alert in Glenarm earlier this week, during which police carried out a controlled explosion on what was later confirmed to be a viable device. The latest development follows Monday’s major police operation in the Feystown Road area, where detectives launched an investigation after a suspicious item was reported and specialist officers were called to the scene. Court appearance on Wednesday Detectives investigating the i

A former nurse who was living in Cullybackey at the time of the offence has been struck off by the profession’s regulator after a criminal conviction over indecent online messages referring to sexual activity with children. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has removed 56-year-old David Kenneth Paul McKeown from the register following a Fitness to Practise Committee hearing held on 17 March 2026. The regulator imposed a striking-off order, alongside an interim suspensio

Ballymena Magistrates’ Court A 30-year-old man has been charged to court after police investigated a report of threatening online messages allegedly sent to a local elected representative. The charges follow an incident reported to police on Friday, 27 March, raising concerns over the targeting of an elected public figure through digital communications. The man is due to appear before Ballymena Magistrates’ Court today, Thursday, 2 April. Charges brought following police inve

Drugs seized by police in the Ballykeel area of Ballymena A routine patrol in Ballymena has led to a major drugs seizure worth an estimated £450,000, in what police have described as a “substantial disruption” to illegal activity in the area. Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) stopped and searched a suspicious vehicle in the Ballykeel area on Thursday, 26 March 2026. What they discovered inside was far from routine. Approximately 30 kilos of suspecte

A registered nurse has been fined after a court heard she was operating an unlicensed aesthetics clinic from her home, where prescription-only medicines were being stored and advertised illegally. Nafeyka Chavdarova, 44, from Portadown, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates’ Court where she pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Human Medicines Regulations. She was fined £720 and ordered to pay an offender levy. Unlicensed medicines seized The case arose following a visit

North Antrim MP Jim Allister, speaking in Parliament A new European court ruling on gender recognition has sparked fresh constitutional concerns in Northern Ireland, with TUV leader Jim Allister warning it could override a landmark UK Supreme Court decision. The North Antrim MP has raised urgent questions with the UK Government after the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of a transgender woman in the so-called Shipova case—potentially setting up a legal clash with do

A man has been charged with multiple offences following a disturbing incident in Portglenone in which a woman was reportedly assaulted and forced into a vehicle on a busy village street. Detectives investigating the incident in the Main Street area of Portglenone on Saturday evening, 14 March, confirmed that a 42-year-old man has now been charged to court. The development follows an earlier report from a member of the public that a male assaulted a female at around 10pm, alle

Pictured: William Houston sadly died falling an incident at a County Antrim quarry. A quarry company has been fined £110,000 after a subcontractor died when a large stone fell from height at a County Antrim site. FP McCann Limited was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Friday (13 March) after pleading guilty to a single health and safety offence following the death of subcontractor William Houston. The prosecution followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive f

A Ballymena gym owner has been fined after unlicensed weight-loss medicines were discovered at his business — prompting a stark warning from health officials about the dangers of buying or supplying drugs outside regulated healthcare channels. Daniel O’Neill, 59, owner of DISQ Gym at Ross Court in Ballymena, appeared before Ballymena Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to an offence in breach of the Human Medicines Regulations. He was fined £1,000 plus an offender levy

Tobermore Concrete, County Londonderry A County Londonderry concrete products manufacturer has been fined £160,000 following the death of an employee at its Tobermore production site. Tobermore Concrete Products Limited was sentenced at Londonderry Crown Court on 19 February 2026 after pleading guilty to a single health and safety offence, following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI). The prosecution followed the death of Mr Colin

The derelict Antrim Arms Hotel in Ballycastle Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has said it will initiate further legal proceedings in relation to the potential demolition of the historic Antrim Arms Hotel in Ballycastle. The listed building, elements of which are more than 400 years old, was declared a dangerous structure by the council last year. At February’s meeting of the Environmental Services Committee, Alliance councillor Lee Kane put forward a motion seeking

Young Ballymena woman Chloe Mitchell who was brutally murdered in the town. The Chloe Mitchell trial will proceed after Justice Minister Naomi Long and representatives of the Criminal Bar Association reached agreement following talks aimed at resolving the current impasse within the criminal justice system. In a joint statement issued on Sunday (15 February), the Minister and the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) confirmed that an accelerated review of the fees structure will co

A former officer with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has been sentenced for domestic abuse offences relating to inappropriate electronic communications at Londonderry Magistrates’ Court . Kyle Millar, 28, was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, on Friday 13 February. Millar was a serving police officer at the time the offences were committed. Internal investigation and dismissal from PSNI Following the offences, a swift internal i

21-year-old Chloe Mitchell who was murdered in June 2023 in Ballymena North Antrim elected representatives have called on the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) to grant a dispensation in its ongoing strike action to allow the trial of the individual charged with the murder of Chloe Mitchell to proceed as planned. The appeal comes as a deadline to prevent further delays in the Chloe Mitchell trial is fast approaching. Six representatives — Sian Mullholland MLA, Timothy Gaston MLA