30/03/2016 BBC Newsline

Have a very good night.

A woman says she's lucky to be alive after escaping a house fire

in Armagh by jumping out of a first-floor window.

Neighbours ran to her aid as the blaze spread through her home

in Navan Court last night.

David Maxwell reports.

A home destroyed by fire.

The charred remains of furniture show how serious this blaze was.

Inside, one woman in her 50s.

The blaze started some time after 8pm - it spread so quickly

the woman couldn't escape through the front or back doors.

Forcing her to call for help from upstairs.

I have spoken to a man who lives in the adjoining house

and he described hearing the smoke alarm and seeing smoke coming out

of this home yesterday evening.

He came out here with another man to find a woman calling for help

from an upstairs window.

They coaxed her out of the window and as the ground floor was engulfed

in flames, eventually she jumped and they caught her.

She suffered only minor injuries and today she didn't want to appear

on camera, but she says she feels lucky to be alive.

The Fire Service arrived after the woman had escaped

from the burning house.

Around 20 firefighters brought the blaze under control

within about an hour.

There was a busy scene whenever the crews arrived.

They made sure that everyone was safe.

It is quite an extensive fire, the first floor of the property.

Thankfully the smoke alarm was activated and that alerted

the lady and the neighbours.

It is thought the fire started accidentally.

The Fire Service says it shows the importance of having

a working smoke detector.

Without one, it says, the outcome here could have

been very different.

A 54-year-old man arrested in connection with the murders

of two police officers at a bar in Belfast nearly 30 years ago has

been released pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service.

Detective Constables Michael Malone and Ernest Carson were shot

in an IRA gun attack at the Liverpool Bar

in Donegall Quay in August 1987.

The police have defended their use of a CS spray at a junior Orange

parade in South Belfast last night - but they've apologised

to the families of any children who were affected.

There were minor scuffles on the Ormeau Road as bandsmen

returned after a parade in Carrickfergus.

The police say that two officers were slightly injured.

Mervyn Jess reports.

This is the band at the centre of the CS spray controversy,

which happened during the return leg of yesterday's junior Orange parade

along the Ormeau Road.

The South Belfast Young Conquerors was one of several bands who'd

earlier taken part in the junior Orange Easter Tuesday

parade in Carrickfergus.

The PSNI say some bandsmen started weaving in and out of parked

or passing vehicles along the Ormeau Road.

A police officer tried to stop them, brushing up against the vehicles

by nudging them over to one side of the road.

The parade organisers say the bandsmen were pushed.

This CS spray incident happened as the parade was passing along this

section of the Ormeau road.

Just a few hundred yards away from Ballynafeigh Orange Hall

where it was coming to an end.

It was then that scuffles broke out between some bandsmen and the two

officers policing the parade.

The police have been accused of overreacting

in the circumstances.

I think if you are in a position where there are two officers

on their own surrounded by a number of individuals who are threatening

violence on them, I think you would be concerned

for your own safety.

The officers warned them verbally, drew a baton to try to create

distance and space and then eventually had to use CS spray

because of the threats that were being posed.

Officers did not set up to do that at the start of a shift,

or ever intend or hope to do it, but it had to be used

in the circumstances.

A statement on the band's website said...

You see young children traumatised by a poor decision a police officer

made and the events that flowed from that decision,

it was quite shocking to see.

I think the police officer needed to make a decision in the context

that this was a children's parade, that if he was going to take actions

where he started to push people, would there be an incident occuring

where children would be put in danger and that is

what I think happened.

A mother who claimed her 12-year-old son who was in the band was directly

affected by the CS spray has been urged by unionist politicians

to contact the Police Ombudsman.

He's the first rank of that band.

When the police came in and he got hit directly in the face

and he was left screaming in pain.

They say that parade was too close to cars.

Does that warrant, does that justify my son getting CS spray

in his face?

He is 12 years old and he wasn't near a car, why spray my child?

I've heard in particular parents saying that their children

were directly sprayed.

In terms of what might officers are telling me,

obviously there will be investigations into it,

so I think we need to give those the time and space to report,

there were no children attacking police and CS spray is an offensive

tool to create space and stopping an assault taking place,

there were no children involved in assaulting police,

there is always a possibility of particles getting into children's

eyes and for that we are deeply regretful, we did not intend that

and we apologise.

However the core responsibility is on those who attacked police

officers.

Ballynafeigh District has always had a positive relationship with police.

If the police have a problem with our parades, say,

and ask us to sort the problem out order to address the problem

and we are quite willing to do that.

I would hope that those positive relationships continue

in the future.

The CS spray incident is now the subject of an investigation

by the Police Ombudsman.

A majority of the local businesses who pay for their water will face no

increase in price tariffs over the next 12 months.

Northern Ireland Water says the move has been made possible

by efficiency savings.

Here's our business correspondent Julian O'Neill.

About 80,000 non-domestic customers pay for water and a freeze

in charges from April will apply to about 90% of them.

Northern Ireland Water has made savings of ?65 million in recent

years and it says businesses are feeling the benefit.

We have continued to focus on the efficiency of

Northern Ireland Water, so we

have been continuallly taking our cost base down,

we have improved our services while we've been doing that.

back into our tariffs for the coming year.

That is what has made it possible.

It is worth remembering this is a freeze on tarrifs which did

increase last year because of a big hike on Northern Ireland

Water's rates bill.

The company does consult on its charging tariffs and this

price freeze has been described as an appropriate move.

We work closely with Northern Ireland Water

and its tariffs, making sure that customers are getting value

for money and that they are getting services that they pay for.

A price reduction would be even better but on balance the price

freeze looks about right.

But there are circumstances in which some bills will rise.

Trade effluent charges will jump by nearly 3%.

This will cover 500 customers - for example, manufacturing

businesses and hospitals.

Customers who don't have meters get bills based on rates,

and because there was a revaluation recently changes

will have a knock-on impact.

About 10,000 customers are billed this way.

Northern Ireland Water says it will continue to drive

down its cost base.

Further reductions are built into its business plan in the next

four years and this may continue to be reflected in prices.

One in five homes in Northern Ireland is rented

from a private landlord.

The rules that govern the rental market are changing -

so much so that there are concerns it could push up

the price of renting.

Colletta Smith reports.

It used to be just for students.

But not anymore.

150,000 homes in Northern Ireland are now rented from a private

landlord.

Homes like this one.

Good afternoon. Nice to meet you. Can I show you around this lovely

property? Follow me. We will start off in the living room.

Follow me.

We will start off in the living room.

Good spacious room.

You are expecting a family?

Yes, I think we are seeing a broad range of tenants.

We're not seeing a specific type, it is young people, older people

and families and couples, so it is a very mixed bag of tenants

we are getting now.

Have prices gone up in recent years?

Rental prices have gone up.

On average perhaps maybe five or 10% on a yearly basis, so it has

gone up considerably.

It reflects the demand.

The latest results from the Rental Index show

that the average price here is ?550 a month, in Belfast that

average goes up to ?595, and 40% of tenants are in

three-bedroom homes.

For some, the cost of renting a home in the private sector is a concern.

One of the big problems is affordability.

And that's not just about paying a deposit and paying rent

in advance, there's also letting fees.

And letting fees are in no way regulated in Northern Ireland It is

a substantial barrier.

It is a time that it is the only option for many people

because social housing just is not there.

Whether through choice or necessity, more people are renting

than ever before.

But in two days' time landlords will have to pay more in stamp duty.

The Bank of England wants to limit the amount of money buy-to-let

landlords can borrow.

And the Department of Social Development

is considering

changing those rules about private rent.

If this triple-whammy of new rules and costs puts some landlords off,

that will push rental prices up.

The challenge of government is to create a regulated framework

so they are providing good quality attractive homes coupled with a very

professional and cost effective management structure.

Regulating landlords without scaring them off will be a difficult

tightrope to walk.

To sport now and in rugby, Ulster's Ireland internationals

are expected to return for this Friday's Pro12 showdown with leaders

Connaght in Belfast.

Ulster are fifth in the table with four games to go,

and realistically need to win to reach the play-offs.

Winger Andrew Trimble says it's time for the team to deliver.

We have put ourselves in the corner and we have to come out fighting.

I have every confidence that that will bring the best out of us.

It will bring us at our physical best, our intensity levels will be

up there where we have been on big European nights and this is the best

Connaght side there has been in a long time.

The best side in the league this year.

They will be a handful.

We have had to do a lot of work them.

All that homework goes out the window.

You go out on the pitch and try and give them a hard time

and that is what I hope we will do.

Time for check on the weather forecast now, here's Geoff Maskell.

Hello, good evening.

It has been a mixed day of sunshine and showers today,

with more of the same to come tomorrow.

Overnight any of those remaining showers will largely fizzle out,

but under the clear skies temperatures will drop away.

In some rural areas we could see minus two minus three.

The chance of a bit of mist and fog by dawn on Thursday.

But after that chilly start, once the sun gets to work it

will burn away quite quickly.

And then we are actually in for rather a nice day.

In fact if we take the wider view across the whole of the UK

and Ireland, you could see that wherever you are it's going to be

a pretty nice day.

Across London and the south-east, we'll see temperatures comfortably

up into double figures, 12, 13 Celsius there.

Not quite so warm for Northern Ireland.

A few showers popping up through the day.

But we should comfortably get up into double figures as we go

through the afternoon and there will be plenty of bright

or sunny spells to end the day.

Do make the most of it, because if March goes out

with plenty of sunshine, April comes in with plenty of rain

and it is all down to this weather front that's gradually

working its way in from the Atlantic overnight Thursday and

into Friday morning.

It really does dampen things down.

That rain stays with us pretty much all the way through Friday.

Some stronger winds as well.

Pretty miserable under all the cloud.

So, make the most of tomorrow, it's the last of the bright days

to end March.

For Friday and Saturday, a much damper picture.

Things will gradually start to clear up as we go

through the day on Saturday.

Improving through Sunday and into the start of next week.

That's it for now.

Our next BBC Newsline is at 6:25am in the morning during

Breakfast here on BBC One.

You can also keep updated with News Online.

Goodnight.