Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

Catholic lucky to be alive

A 28-year-old Catholic man is lucky to be alive following a vicious sectarian attack carried out by a loyalist gang who targeted him as he walked along the Cloyfin Road near to Coleraine County Derry at around 4.30pm on Wednesday 2 July.

The man, named locally as Simon Fleming from the Killowen area of Coleraine, was grabbed by three loyalists who pulled up along side him in a red car and began attacking him with iron bars and stabbing him repeatedly in the back with a knife. It is believed the man was stabbed eight times in the back and shoulders.

The loyalist attackers attempted to drag the man into the car, but despite suffering a punctured lung, Fleming managed to fight them off and escape.

He managed to make his way to a nearby house to raise the alarm. He was rushed to the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine where his condition was described as "serious but stable".

American woman angry at sectarian attacks

American woman whose family business was destroyed and whose home was attacked by loyalists has said she is considering returning to the United States.

Denise Maxwell said members of the PSNI told her that members of the UVF in the South Derry area had admitted they were responsible for the sectarian attacks.

She said she is devastated by the two separate attacks on her property, which caused extensive damage to the interior of the shop.

She and her husband Paddy's business, "Design My Sign" on the Kilrea Road at Upperlands, near Maghera was destroyed in an arson attack carried out at around 1am on Thursday 3 July.

Hours later, the family home in the predominately loyalist Tamlaght O'Crilly area of Maghera had six windows broken and sectarian graffiti daubed on the walls.

The words "Taigs out" and "Maxwell Scum" were painted in green lettering on the front of the family home.