:00:18. > :00:28.Welcome to BBC Newsline. The headlines: The couple who stole
:00:28. > :00:32.�100,000 from a pensioner suffering from Alzheimer's. The former bank
:00:32. > :00:35.worker who had a taste for the high life paid for by other people's
:00:35. > :00:38.money. Moore gloom for the motorist as
:00:38. > :00:45.petrol prices here continues to rise.
:00:46. > :00:52.It is Brian McLoughlin's last game in charge at Ravenhill. Can the
:00:52. > :00:55.Ulster players give their coach the perfect send-off against Leinster?
:00:55. > :01:05.Today we have had warm spells of sunshine interspersed with claps of
:01:05. > :01:07.thunder so what has the weekend in store? Join me later.
:01:08. > :01:14.A couple from Warrenpoint have admitted stealing almost �100,000
:01:14. > :01:16.from an elderly widow suffering from Alzheimer's. James and Colleen
:01:16. > :01:26.McPolin drove their 84 year-old victim to her building-society to
:01:26. > :01:30.
:01:30. > :01:35.get her to hand over the money. This is the couple who preyed on a
:01:35. > :01:42.vulnerable old woman. 41 year-old colleague and a taxi-driver husband,
:01:42. > :01:48.46 year-old James, both from Warrenpoint. They befriended at
:01:48. > :01:51.childless widow, Beatrice. In May 2009, they took the 84 year-old to
:01:51. > :01:57.this building society in Newry where she made them out a cheque
:01:57. > :02:01.for �46,000. Eight months later, she was back for a cheque for
:02:01. > :02:09.�50,000. At this point, staff became suspicious and called the
:02:09. > :02:16.police. At the time of the offences, the doctors said she was no longer
:02:16. > :02:21.capable of looking after her affairs. They took advantage of her
:02:21. > :02:25.ill state and that is what constituted the theft. When the
:02:25. > :02:32.full extent of her dementia emerged during a police investigation, a
:02:32. > :02:36.High Court gave him complete control over her affairs. This lady
:02:37. > :02:41.was the most honourable and disadvantaged person, given the
:02:41. > :02:45.extent of her Alzheimer's condition. She has no capacity to understand
:02:45. > :02:50.what is going on on a day-to-day basis. A rethink of crimes against
:02:50. > :02:55.the elderly and the vulnerable in our society, we think of a physical
:02:55. > :02:59.assault and robbery. However, this particular case was no less serious,
:02:59. > :03:05.it was perpetrated in a very callous manner and have the
:03:05. > :03:09.potential to defraud and 87 year- old lady of her life savings.
:03:09. > :03:15.couple have remortgaged their home to raise the money they took from a
:03:15. > :03:19.pensioner. Today in court, they handed over a cheque for � 45,000
:03:19. > :03:23.and that means they have paid back all the money they stole. The judge
:03:23. > :03:28.said he would be passing sentence at next week after that cheque has
:03:28. > :03:31.cleared. A former bank worker has been
:03:31. > :03:33.jailed for eight months for stealing more than �20,000 from two
:03:33. > :03:37.of his former colleagues. Stephen Glenn from Newtownards admitted two
:03:37. > :03:42.counts of theft and forgery. Glenn told them he was going to invest
:03:42. > :03:45.the money but instead he spent it. His ex-wife says she believes that
:03:45. > :03:52.other people who gave him money are still to come forward. She's been
:03:52. > :03:56.talking to our district journalist, Claire Savage.
:03:57. > :03:59.This is Stephen Glenn outside a Swiss bank in Monaco. He had a
:03:59. > :04:03.taste for the high life but are paid for it with other people's
:04:03. > :04:07.money. Five years ago he told his victims he would invest their money
:04:07. > :04:12.but today he was jailed for pocketing it. During this time he
:04:12. > :04:15.was bankrupt but kept ahead and this fact from his wife at the time.
:04:15. > :04:20.She doesn't want to be identified to protect their children but says
:04:20. > :04:25.other people may have been fooled. There is definitely other victims
:04:25. > :04:30.out there, I know that there fact. I cannot give any names and I guess
:04:30. > :04:34.some people are too afraid to come forward and say they are victims.
:04:34. > :04:38.When Stephen was a bankrupt, he may just damage to the south of France.
:04:38. > :04:44.He said it was for business but later said there were threats
:04:44. > :04:48.against him. His wife came back to Northern Ireland at the end of 2007
:04:48. > :04:51.and found unpaid bills and a repossession order for their house.
:04:51. > :04:56.A I can still remember the feeling, I thought I was going to faint but
:04:56. > :05:01.I was so shocked and horrified, I didn't know where to begin to start
:05:01. > :05:04.to peace my life back together again because it had just gone from
:05:04. > :05:10.this idyllic life of living in the south of France in a wonderful do
:05:10. > :05:13.love with a swimming pool and everything seemed so good. To then
:05:13. > :05:18.come back and realise there had been such deception going on behind
:05:18. > :05:24.my back and to realise my own home was being taken from me, it was
:05:25. > :05:28.horrific. She says he has damaged people's lives. I hope that my ex
:05:28. > :05:34.husband will recognise the extent of the devastation he has cost. He
:05:34. > :05:40.has never shown any signs of being remorseful or made any attempts to
:05:40. > :05:46.apologise. I think he lacks the high life and he likes of the rich
:05:46. > :05:49.living. He always liked the film, catch me if you can. In some ways,
:05:49. > :05:54.he has modelled his life in the past few years on the main
:05:54. > :05:59.character in that film. Before he was sentenced, he told me he had
:05:59. > :06:03.been the victim of an international scam and that he had been working
:06:03. > :06:08.with the FBI to help smash it, something security sources have
:06:08. > :06:13.rubbished. Today the judge said it would be in the public interest if
:06:13. > :06:18.Stephen Glenn spent at least eight months of his 16 months sentence in
:06:18. > :06:22.prison. A rare sentence for someone with a clean record.
:06:22. > :06:26.UK petrol prices may have risen to a new high today but the cost at
:06:26. > :06:31.the pumps here is even higher. The average price per litre of petrol
:06:31. > :06:36.is now �1.44. Diesel costs even more with a further price rise to
:06:36. > :06:46.come for both in the autumn. Many motorists have no alternative but
:06:46. > :06:49.
:06:49. > :06:52.to pay more for fuel. There may be big price cuts at the
:06:52. > :07:01.forecourts but they are in the shops, not the pumps were the price
:07:01. > :07:06.of fuel continues to rise. Brittle has reached an UK high of �142.88
:07:06. > :07:10.and later on average and here we pay 1.5 pence more. With household
:07:10. > :07:18.incomes squeezed by inflation, pay freezes and benefit cuts, it means
:07:18. > :07:24.filling up the car is now an necessary evil. It is 2 p a litre
:07:24. > :07:30.more than last week but most of that his tax. It used to be �30 to
:07:30. > :07:40.fill the car but now it is �70. you drive a diesel, you cannot feel
:07:40. > :07:43.the pain. It is much more expensive than their petrol. Where you are
:07:43. > :07:47.really going to see the difference is if you go abroad. Northern
:07:47. > :07:52.Ireland now has the second highest diesel prices in Europe. Only
:07:52. > :07:56.Norway is more expensive. There are alternatives, the main one being
:07:56. > :08:00.public transport. That is OK if you live in a town or city but for
:08:00. > :08:04.those living in the countryside, it is sometimes not an option to.
:08:04. > :08:09.live in an area where there is not a great deal of competition, there
:08:09. > :08:12.may be is not a supermarket in your area at driving the price down and
:08:12. > :08:17.you're paying the highest prices for petrol and diesel in the UK and
:08:17. > :08:20.in Europe and you have no alternative but to use public
:08:20. > :08:26.transport. That is the position of people living along the border find
:08:26. > :08:31.themselves in the Ikea in County Tyrone. I could spend �one and 50 a
:08:31. > :08:40.week on diesel, is a disgrace. is very, very expensive for us.
:08:40. > :08:45.you saying -- spending more? Definitely, yes. At a saving of
:08:45. > :08:50.around �12 on the if the love of tank, it is not attractive as it
:08:50. > :08:54.once was. Government duty mix up the bulk of what we pay. There is
:08:54. > :09:00.another increase coming in August. Next week, the Assembly debates and
:09:00. > :09:03.motion calling for the devolution to set fuel for duty. That might
:09:03. > :09:07.ease the turning of the screw on the motorist.
:09:07. > :09:16.Many people have commented on this story on our Facebook page today.
:09:16. > :09:19.You can join in the conversation in. You can also follow us on Twitter.
:09:19. > :09:23.The Ulster Hospital in Dundonald says 40 of its staff had been moved
:09:23. > :09:25.from administration buildings during a gas leak this afternoon.
:09:25. > :09:28.It happened after contractor ruptured a gas main on the west
:09:28. > :09:32.side of the hospital complex near the renal unit. Staff reported
:09:32. > :09:36.hearing hissing noises earlier today but no patients were affected.
:09:36. > :09:42.Phoenix Gas engineers and the fire service cut off the gas supply at
:09:42. > :09:47.the mains while the leak dissipated. Still to come on the programme:
:09:47. > :09:56.They were promised a piece of paradise. Instead they got disaster
:09:56. > :09:58.but today they got their money back. Now it is just, all my goodness!
:09:58. > :10:01.This is a future for our family again.
:10:01. > :10:06.We meet the Armoy woman who is hoping to paddle her way to the
:10:06. > :10:09.London Olympics. The 120 year-old Athletic Stores
:10:09. > :10:14.building in the centre of Belfast is to be demolished to make way for
:10:14. > :10:24.an apartment block. Campaigners say they are annoyed that not enough
:10:24. > :10:28.
:10:28. > :10:32.was done to save the building. The Victorian building has stood at
:10:32. > :10:36.the corner of Queen Street for more than a century. It survived the
:10:36. > :10:40.Blitz and the IRA's bombing campaign of the Seventies and
:10:40. > :10:43.Eighties but it is developers who will end up pulling it down. After
:10:43. > :10:48.years of controversy, the Environment Minister has finally
:10:48. > :10:54.granted planning approval for the building to be demolished. Nobody
:10:54. > :11:01.really believed the building could be saved. The issue is, cannot but
:11:01. > :11:04.the sad be saved? When you look at the cost of doing so, the better
:11:04. > :11:10.judgment, hard though it was, is that the building to be demolished
:11:10. > :11:18.or stop in its place, there will be a seven-storey block of apartments
:11:18. > :11:28.and a row of shop at street level but conservationists insist the
:11:28. > :11:29.
:11:29. > :11:32.ornate front could have been saved. We think it makes sense. It is
:11:32. > :11:36.fundamental to the character of this conservation area and to lose
:11:36. > :11:40.buildings like this, we use our links with the past and identity
:11:40. > :11:43.and we lose that authentic, tangible link with industrial
:11:43. > :11:49.heritage of Belfast on which we sell ourselves to tourists in
:11:49. > :11:53.particular. We cannot afford to lose buildings like this any more.
:11:53. > :11:58.The building had not been given special protection and was not
:11:58. > :12:01.listed. Today's decision means Belfast is poised to lose another
:12:01. > :12:05.of its victory in buildings but before the demolition squad moves
:12:05. > :12:10.in, the developer will have to raise the cash necessary to carry
:12:10. > :12:13.out its plans and that won't be easy in today's property market.
:12:13. > :12:16.There was traffic disruption in Belfast city centre earlier today
:12:16. > :12:19.when metro bus drivers went on strike. Dozens of drivers stopped
:12:19. > :12:23.work in support of a colleague who had been disciplined by Translink
:12:23. > :12:27.management. The action lasted around 90 minutes. Services resumed
:12:27. > :12:32.when the union heard the driver had been reinstated on full pay.
:12:32. > :12:40.Management and unions will meet on Monday. The strike led to confusion
:12:40. > :12:44.at bus-stops and long queues at taxi ranks.
:12:44. > :12:48.It is uncomfortable for everyone and people will be disappointed but
:12:48. > :12:53.people need to look at where the blame is. Do not put the blame on
:12:53. > :12:59.the workforce. They supported their colleague because it could happen
:12:59. > :13:02.to them. Three people from Northern Ireland
:13:02. > :13:06.whose dream of owning a holiday home in Italy turned to disaster
:13:06. > :13:09.have got their money back after five years. They handed over
:13:09. > :13:13.thousands of pounds for a deposit on apartment that was never built.
:13:13. > :13:20.They sued the solicitor who did the conveyancing work and today they
:13:20. > :13:25.got the result they wanted. They were promised a piece of paradise.
:13:25. > :13:31.The kids, this will be our beach. Instead, they had a devastating
:13:31. > :13:33.disappointment. This couple from East Belfast board an apartment off
:13:33. > :13:37.plant in southern Italy. Despite doing plenty of research, they
:13:37. > :13:43.found themselves thousands of pounds out of pocket. A lawyer took
:13:43. > :13:46.their deposit but the holiday homes were never constructed. They sued
:13:46. > :13:52.the Italian solicitor and today at a High Court, the case was settled
:13:52. > :13:55.in their favour. You put something to the back of your mind and don't
:13:55. > :13:59.allow yourself to think about it because you cannot think of the
:13:59. > :14:05.reality of this not coming to fruition and now is just, on my
:14:05. > :14:10.goodness, this is a future for our family again. It is nice to get the
:14:10. > :14:15.justice. The money comes into it obviously but it was in black and
:14:15. > :14:19.white. The scheme was well marketed in Northern Ireland. The lawyer in
:14:19. > :14:25.Italy appeared to have good credentials but the buyers were
:14:25. > :14:29.badly let down. He sent the money on to the estate agents and didn't
:14:29. > :14:33.carry out any of the proper checks. The land itself was designated for
:14:33. > :14:38.agricultural purposes only so nothing could ever be built there.
:14:38. > :14:43.Robert Crawford from County Down also won damages. Until you get
:14:43. > :14:48.there, anything could happen. It has been a tough time and I am glad
:14:48. > :14:53.to see the back of it, to be honest. So they have finally got the money
:14:53. > :14:56.back but many others are still waiting. More than 60 people from
:14:56. > :15:06.Northern Ireland who bought holiday homes are also suing the Italian
:15:06. > :15:22.
:15:22. > :15:25.lawyer. Ireland's boxing team for the
:15:25. > :15:27.London 2012 games is nearly finalised. Today Adam Nolan booked
:15:27. > :15:29.his ticket in the welterweight division. Paddy Barnes is already
:15:29. > :15:33.London-bound but he had a controversial defeat today.
:15:33. > :15:37.With qualification assured, the pressure was off paddy Barnes to
:15:37. > :15:41.win his semi-final but today. That didn't stop him a landing hard
:15:41. > :15:45.punches on his Turkish opponent but surprisingly the judges ruled in
:15:45. > :15:51.favour of the home fighter Bostock the result frustrated him but
:15:51. > :15:59.another Olympic hopeful but he doesn't think he will have any
:15:59. > :16:05.trouble when the Games come around. I don't think it will matter, the
:16:05. > :16:08.experience will stand by him. London doesn't throw any secrets up,
:16:08. > :16:12.he knows what it is all about so fingers crossed he could go better
:16:12. > :16:17.this time. The day started well for the Irish boxing team when Adam
:16:17. > :16:22.Nolan became the 5th fighter to qualify for the Games. But there
:16:22. > :16:26.was heartbreak for Tommy McCarthy, he lost his semi-final with and the
:16:26. > :16:28.last hour and with that, his chance of an Olympic place.
:16:28. > :16:33.The Olympic qualification deadlines are not confined to boxing at this
:16:33. > :16:36.time of year. With 98 days to the game's opening ceremony, this
:16:36. > :16:46.evening we profile a County Antrim woman who is hoping to paddle her
:16:46. > :16:51.way to London 2012. When it comes to an water sports,
:16:51. > :16:56.Pamela's background is hardly typical. She was raised on a ship
:16:56. > :17:06.San -- sheep farm in Armoy. Her family moved to France when she was
:17:06. > :17:07.
:17:07. > :17:16.nine and she developed a passion for canoe slalom. There's little
:17:16. > :17:22.room for error. It can be a lonely sport. Sometimes the only training
:17:22. > :17:26.partner you have is a duck or swamp. But this is constant challenges, it
:17:26. > :17:32.is the combination of a thrill and skill but I have never found in any
:17:32. > :17:37.other sport. And she is good at it. In a sport that often the struggles
:17:37. > :17:42.for exposure and funding, Hannah and her fellow hopefuls have had to
:17:42. > :17:49.work particularly hard. She has a brilliant chance of qualifying, I
:17:49. > :17:52.think it would be great for the sport. It is important now a
:17:52. > :17:55.because the sports are really vying for each other for funding because
:17:55. > :17:59.funding is going down for all sports and if you can show that you
:17:59. > :18:04.are qualifying people for the Olympic Games, it gives the sport
:18:04. > :18:10.much better chance of getting funding. Olympic qualification
:18:10. > :18:14.hinges on next man's European championships in Germany. A big
:18:14. > :18:17.performance there would Secure Hanna a picture in the summer.
:18:17. > :18:21.It is Ulster's penultimate game in rugby's pro 12 this evening, which
:18:21. > :18:23.they must win to keep their play- off hopes intact. Leinster are the
:18:23. > :18:33.visitors for what will also be Brian McLoughlin's last match at
:18:33. > :18:34.
:18:34. > :18:37.Ravenhill as Ulster head coach. Live now to Gavin Andrews.
:18:38. > :18:41.A BIC atmosphere building here at Ravenhill ahead of the start a.
:18:41. > :18:45.Some of the stories of Irish rugby are on a store and one joins us now.
:18:45. > :18:50.It is no indication of Ulster's success at the tail-end of this
:18:50. > :18:55.season but you are being rested tonight for a game so big? It shows
:18:55. > :18:59.what a good squad we have. We can tick players like Stephen Ferris
:18:59. > :19:03.and Dan Tuohy and myself that are carrying bumps and bruises and make
:19:03. > :19:07.sure we are right for next week. Wigan have no fear of the boys
:19:07. > :19:12.coming in because we know they would be a cracking job. We are
:19:12. > :19:18.going to see Brian O'Driscoll out there for Leinster? It is a good
:19:18. > :19:22.sign that leads to feel they have to bring a strong side appear.
:19:22. > :19:26.They're at home, is a big game with two very strong teams out and it
:19:26. > :19:32.should be a cracking game of rugby. A couple of the South Africans will
:19:32. > :19:35.be playing at their last game had given Hill and Brian McLaughlan?
:19:35. > :19:41.Over the last number of years we have had a few people playing their
:19:41. > :19:45.last games at Ravenhill. Obviously it will be a sad day for this
:19:45. > :19:49.evidence but a particularly sad day for Brian Haw. But it is a good day
:19:49. > :19:53.for him as well, I am sure the boys will bring in a performance for him.
:19:53. > :20:00.He has done a fantastically well for us but it is always a little
:20:00. > :20:04.bit special when it is somebody from within Ulster and everyone is
:20:04. > :20:09.very thankful for the job he has done and hopefully we can give him
:20:09. > :20:16.a good scent of tonight and again next week. Best of luck, enjoy and
:20:17. > :20:19.to keep calm. There is live coverage over on BBC Two from 7pm.
:20:19. > :20:23.In football, the Irish Premiership title may already be decided but
:20:23. > :20:27.the relegation battle is still intense. Carrick Rangers will go
:20:27. > :20:30.down if they fail to beat Lisburn Distillery tonight. Glenavon are
:20:30. > :20:38.not mathematically safe yet either, although their 4-0 win here over
:20:38. > :20:42.Donegal Celtic last week has boosted their survival prospects.
:20:42. > :20:48.We have done the first part of our job but the most important part of
:20:48. > :20:56.our job is to not into any relegation fight and we don't want
:20:56. > :21:01.to be in a play-off situation. We want to get to the end having a
:21:01. > :21:04.winner. It will not be easy at Ballymoney. I am confident that if
:21:04. > :21:07.we play there will be have been playing and tighten up the back, we
:21:07. > :21:09.can get a result against anybody in the league.
:21:09. > :21:12.Gaelic football - Armagh and Crossmaglen goalkeeper Paul Hearty
:21:12. > :21:15.has announced his retirement from Inter county football. He began his
:21:15. > :21:24.Armagh career 12 years ago and was understudy to Benny Tierney during
:21:24. > :21:28.their All-Ireland triumph in 2002. Fancy yourself as the next Gordon
:21:28. > :21:31.Ramsay or Jamie Oliver? Then get along to the north-west this
:21:31. > :21:33.weekend where the focus is on fabulous food. Hundreds have signed
:21:33. > :21:36.up for special cookery demonstrations tomorrow but today
:21:36. > :21:46.it was the turn of the Junior masterchefs to showcase their
:21:46. > :21:48.
:21:48. > :21:56.talent. The former army parade grounds at
:21:56. > :21:59.Ebrington is playing host to a special event. Today, budding young
:21:59. > :22:03.cooks were up against each other in a masterchefs attack competition.
:22:03. > :22:08.They all have come through college's degree course but this
:22:08. > :22:12.was a very public challenge where the heat was on. I am doing a pan-
:22:12. > :22:20.fried salmon with oven baked potatoes and and lemon dressing for
:22:20. > :22:24.some salad. My granny and my parents both love cooking so any
:22:24. > :22:30.time anybody comes, there is something ready in the oven or any
:22:30. > :22:37.recipe to try out. He is hoped this will have a positive impact on what
:22:37. > :22:42.people put on the dining tables. is so important to get young people
:22:42. > :22:45.thinking about a healthy lifestyle. The competition judge was certainly
:22:45. > :22:50.impressed by what was another. is really important that children
:22:50. > :22:56.are to get into cooking because it teaches them discipline, it teaches
:22:56. > :23:03.them to have passion for something oh stop it is great to see them
:23:03. > :23:08.getting excited about something that is not on a screen. So, to the
:23:08. > :23:14.winner, this 13 year-old from foil and Londonderry College. I grew up
:23:14. > :23:18.with cooking will stop my mum and my sister influenced me and I'm so
:23:19. > :23:28.passionate about kicking. The focus on third continues throughout the
:23:29. > :23:38.
:23:38. > :23:42.weekend. The last couple of days, the storms
:23:42. > :23:47.have avoided as but today we had higher temperatures and in the
:23:47. > :23:53.sunshine, tender just got up to 14 degrees. The dealer shows the
:23:53. > :23:58.picture, a lot of sunshine around but in the afternoon, this area of
:23:58. > :24:08.cloud kicked off with some heavy showers. There was some lightning
:24:08. > :24:12.
:24:12. > :24:16.reports around and we got this picture in the Cookstown area. It
:24:16. > :24:23.has been one of those days, the air goes up and you get at Anderston,
:24:23. > :24:27.the air goes down and you have lovely sunshine. One or two of
:24:27. > :24:30.those shares could reach Ravenhill in the next few yards but the rain
:24:30. > :24:36.is beginning to die away and the emphasis will be on dry, clear
:24:36. > :24:40.weather. It would be as cold tonight. Not the frost we had last
:24:40. > :24:48.night. It does mean the weekend will start of a rather damp and
:24:48. > :24:58.cloudy. The shares could be quite lengthy as well so it is a very
:24:58. > :25:01.
:25:01. > :25:04.much an East, West divide. It is with ticking an umbrella if you go
:25:04. > :25:08.out tomorrow. The further west you are, the drier and sunnier it will
:25:08. > :25:13.be. It will feel very pleasant and those sunny skies will head
:25:13. > :25:17.eastwards so that most places will have a decent end to the day and a
:25:17. > :25:27.nice Saturday evening. On Sunday, it will start of a sunny but the
:25:27. > :25:31.