23/12/2015 BBC Newsline

A pedestrian, believed to be a pensioner, has been seriously

injured tonight in an accident in West Belfast.

The victim was walking near the Donegal Road

near the Park Centre shopping centre when he was hit by a car shortly

Part of the Donegal road near the junction with the Broadway

roundabout remains closed to traffic.

A former PSNI Assistant Chief Constable is considering taking

legal action against the police after being cleared of allegations

of bribery and misconduct in public office.

Duncan McCausland, who was a police officer for 30 years,

also plans to lodge a complaint about his treatment with the Police

Our Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent Kearney reports.

Duncan McAusland was one of the most high-profile police officers before

retiring in March 2011 under the patent redundancy scheme.

18 months ago he was arrested at his home by detectives

investigating allegations of bribery in the awarding of contracts

He was questioned for three days at Antrim police station.

The public prosecution service yesterday

informed his solicitor that he will not face charges.

The former Assistant Chief Constable today

welcomed the decision, but criticised his former employer

for arresting him because he had volunteered to assist

The police have to uphold the law and no one is above

The reality is 30 years ago when I was trained as a young

constable I was always taught that if people are prepared to cooperate

with you, you take that cooperation and you exercise the power of arrest

Even in terms of the Human Rights Act, it has to be

proportionate and necessary to execute a power of arrest.

It is not proportional if someone is fully

cooperating with you, prepared to go with you,

preferred to stay with you as long as they need to clarify any issue.

That in my opinion was not necessary for an arrest to take place.

Duncan McAusland says the way he was treated had a huge impact

He was due to be appointed chairman of the Tourist Board

but the minister responsible at the time, Arlene

Foster, withdrew the offer after his arrest.

He plans to lodge a formal complaint with the Police Ombudsman.

He may also take legal action against the PSNI.

His lawyers claim the decision to arrest was a breach of law.

Duncan McAusland was one of nine people questioned as part

All have been told they will not face any charges.

They include the owner of one of the largest car dealerships

Terence Donnelly has always maintained that he would be

completely exonerated in relation to all allegations against them.

Duncan McAusland has called on Chief Constable George Hamilton

In a statement, the Chief Constable said

he was satisfied with the integrity and professionalism

The Rathfriland family who lost their home in a fire early

yesterday have said they've overwhelmed at the generous response

More than ?10,000 has been donated online, and offers of help

with accomodation, and even a new car, have been coming

Christmas presents for two-year-old Stacey, delivered by well-wishers

after hers were destroyed in a suspicious fire

Her parents say they have been touched by the public

Christmas is a time for giving and we have seen that.

We have seen how giving people are and words cannot put how much

we thank people for what they have done

It is overwhelming to think that people at this time of year,

as everyone is getting tight, but seem to go that one step further

This is why people are so keen to help Andy and Rebecca.

In one devastating fire, they lost their home, their car,

They were lucky not to lose their lives.

It doesn't bear to think about what had happened.

We just had to think that the three of us are here and we can get

on with our lives now and if those people are sitting at home

who started the fire I just want to let them know

that they haven't ruined our Christmas.

In a way, they have made our Christmas better because now we know

A fresh start in a new house for this young family.

A snapshot of Christmas past now and a letter to Santa written

by a young boy in the 1930s has been unearthed.

Our reporter Mervyn Jess has been finding out what the eight-year-old

So it is the time of year when our thoughts are on the big guy

in the red suit and, by now, most people will have sent

Here in the public records office in Belfast, they have come

across one Santa letter was posted years ago.

The Santa letter was written in 1932 by and featuring boy called

The Santa letter was written in 1932 by an eight-year-old boy called

It was discovered within a collection of documents handed

over to the public records office by the City Council.

He was asking for Christmas presents for his father,

his mother and his siblings and they were simple items such

as boots, school bags, tobacco and a pipe for his father

and the heartbreaking thing is that the family cannot afford it.

The Christmas wish list said some other things that the dad had not

worked for seven years and his mother needed new shoes.

Now, more than 80 years later and in an age of texting,

tweeting and Facebook, it seems Santa letters

As a postscript to the letter, the young boy apologised to Santa,

saying, I would have written sooner but Mummy had no pen and it is rude

Rugby, and Ulster's Nick Williams is joining the Cardiff Blues

on a long-term contract before the start of next season.

As Nial Foster reports his presence will be missed.

At six foot three and weighing 120 kilograms, Nick Williams

is intimidating, which endeared him to the Ulster supporters

Everyone sees the physical nature of the big man,

but for me his subtle skills, his passing and his deft touch

and even his thought process to the way the game should be

played, that is what will be missed here.

Signed in June 2012, the explosive player won Player

of the Year his debut season and since then he has played 67

times for The Ulstermen, scoring 13 tries.

He has been massive for Ulster over the last four years.

The fans love watching him play and we love watching him play

with his barnstorming runs and off-loads.

Come the end of the season, Williams will be aiming

to leave his mark in the history books with some silverware.

A look ahead to tomorrow's Talkback programme and in the first

of its Christmas Specials, William Crawley talks to former BBC

Northern Ireland Political Correspondent, Martina Purdy,

about her life-changing decision to leave journalism

That's on BBC Radio Ulster at midday tomorrow.

Now, here's Cecilia Daly with the weather forecast.

We have wet and windy weather coming in in the next few hours. That is

thanks to the storm that has already brought severe gales and heavy rain

to the West Coast. Heavy rain and strong winds will migrate to the

east across Northern Ireland tonight with Gus speaking at 60 mph. By

morning it is all gone and it is drier and cold and less windy and

temperatures drop to freezing. I around tomorrow morning on Christmas

Eve it will be a cold day. Some sunny gaps as well so it will not be

raining or snowing. Snow will mainly be reserved for the hills but there

will be a dusting in places at the end of the day. Strong winds

continue to affect the North West of Scotland with severe gales and the

weather front moves slowly across East Anglia. Once it moves through

it is colder generally across Britain with a scattering of showers

which a wintry on hills. Perhaps a bit more festive tomorrow but it

will get cold for the last minute Christmas shopping. You need to pile

the layers on. Christmas Eve night will become dry and less windy but

cold with ice. It starts of crisp and dry on Christmas morning and the

rain edges up from the south. Christmas night will be very wet but

gradually turn milder for Boxing Day and the rest of the. Weekend.

MUSIC: Driving Home For Christmas by Chris Rea