UDA expel Catholic woman over domestic dispute

A west Belfast Catholic woman has described how the unionist paramilitary UDA turned up at her door in March to force her out after her housemate became involved in a dispute with neighbouring residents.

Natasha Bradley was made homeless after loyalists armed with baseball bats attacked her friend’s car outside her home it Suffolk estate.

The woman, who is in the medical ‘high risk’ category for the Covid-19 pandemic, was forced to put herself at further risk by moving from house to house during lockdown.

The news comes a week after it was reported that the UDA was behind an intimidation in Finaghy in south Belfast.

Ms Bradley described how the paramilitaries issued the threat.

“The UDA came to the door and our landlord spoke to them,” she said. “They said that she had to leave, but she’s a Protestant and I’m a Catholic.

“They knew I was Catholic and they said I was safe to stay, but they said that if my housemate went against them then they couldn’t guarantee my safety. That was on the Sunday.

“Eventually she left and the landlord was happy for me to take the full tenancy to myself, but then the windows on my friend’s car were put through on two different occasions outside my house – days apart.

“The first night they attacked the car we were going out to get something to eat and noticed the back window was put through. We rang the police, they came out and wanted to see the CCTV, but of course no cameras had picked it up.

“Six days later I heard banging and I looked out and there were two fellas at the car with bats bashing it up.

“We ran out, and they said, ‘You were warned – get out or we’ll put you out, you’re not welcome here.’”

Urgent Appeal