Bushmills attack was bid to 'stamp terror' on area

Those responsible for a serious assault in which a man was left nailed to a fence in Bushmills intended to "stamp their terror upon the area", TUV leader Jim Allister has said.

A man was taken to hospital following the incident in a car park in the County Antrim town in the early hours of Sunday.

The man in his 20s was found with a nail through each hand at a fence.

Mr Allister, a north Antrim MLA, said it was "very cruel and barbaric".

"The lawful authorities are the people to deal with reported crimes and now, I trust, that the lawful authorities will hunt down those who inflicted this upon this person and upon the community," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"It wasn't just upon him, it was upon the whole community."

Mr Allister said the attack appeared to have "the hallmarks of paramilitarism".

"The people of Bushmills like anywhere else are effectively and very committedly law-abiding, they want to live their lives in peace and they want anyone who wants to disturb that off their backs and why wouldn't they?"

He added that "it is imperative that instead of a dearth of policing on the ground, we have a sufficiency of policing and that I think is what has been missing, particularly in many more rural parts of Northern Ireland and it needs to be attended to".

Police have said paramilitary involvement is one key line of inquiry.

Two vans, one belonging to the injured man, were found on fire in the car park near Dundarave Park.

Graffiti on nearby public toilets has been linked to the assault and arson.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the man was left with potentially life-changing but not life-threatening injuries.

Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton told BBC News NI it was a "really shocking incident with levels of, almost, ultra violence".

In the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday, Alliance MLA Sian Mulholland said there was "no justification for this type of behaviour in 2024".

"We are 26 years post Good Friday Agreement, enough is enough and that is what the community is saying."

She said she had contact with parents in the village who are "really worried".

"How do they tell their children about what's on the news and why their town is on the news?

"How do they stop the conversations that will no doubt happen on the playground?"

DUP MLA Paul Frew also told the assembly that it was a "sinister attack, with atrocious violence and brutality, perpetrated on an individual who like every other member of the public has the right to live free from the threat and impact of violence".

"This criminal behaviour must be condemned universally and unequivocally."

On Monday, UUP leader Doug Beattie said the attack had "all the hallmarks" of being carried out by loyalist paramilitaries.

He called for a stronger, multi-agency response to so-called paramilitary attacks.