28/01/2014

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:00:00. > :00:12.Good evening. A gas fitter has admitted causing the deaths of two

:00:13. > :00:16.teenagers by incorrectly fitting a gas boiler. Neil McFerran and Aaron

:00:17. > :00:20.Davidson were poisoned by carbon monoxide at an apartment in

:00:21. > :00:23.Castlerock in 2010. Today, George Brown from Aghadowey pleaded guilty

:00:24. > :00:29.to their manslaughter and other breaches of health and safety laws.

:00:30. > :00:36.There is flash photography in this report from our reporter David

:00:37. > :00:39.Maxwell. Three and a half years on, the

:00:40. > :00:46.families of two teenagers killed in a holiday tragedy today heard a gas

:00:47. > :00:52.fitter accepted it was his fault. This is the man, 52-year-old George

:00:53. > :00:56.Brown from Aghadowey, seen here at an all -- earlier court hearing. The

:00:57. > :01:01.tragedy happened in this seaside apartment in August 2010. Neil

:01:02. > :01:04.McFerran, Aaron Davidson and another teenager came here for a weekend

:01:05. > :01:11.break. They were waiting for exam results. But the holiday at the

:01:12. > :01:15.Castlerock apartment was to end in tragedy. Unable to make contact with

:01:16. > :01:20.the 18-year-olds, all of the parents came to the village. Inside, a scene

:01:21. > :01:26.of horror. Neil McFerran and Aaron Davidson were dead. Their friend was

:01:27. > :01:30.seriously ill. The teenagers had been poisoned by carbon monoxide

:01:31. > :01:35.gas. In the days that followed, George Brown's name was made public.

:01:36. > :01:39.The health and safety executive warned anyone with appliances fitted

:01:40. > :01:46.by him to turn them off. His shop was searched. But it was not until

:01:47. > :01:50.January that he was charged with two counts of manslaughter and other

:01:51. > :01:54.health and safety breaches in properties across the North Coast.

:01:55. > :01:58.He was set to contest those charges at a trial due to begin here next

:01:59. > :02:04.week but today he changed his plea to guilty on all charges. This case

:02:05. > :02:09.sparked the biggest health and safety investigation of its kind in

:02:10. > :02:13.Northern Ireland. This is the first case of its kind in Northern Ireland

:02:14. > :02:17.were by gross negligence manslaughter has been proven for

:02:18. > :02:22.carbon monoxide. It is a tragic event in the relation of Neil

:02:23. > :02:26.McFerran and Aaron Davidson and it has not been without its trials and

:02:27. > :02:30.liberation is getting to this stage. The families had one another but

:02:31. > :02:40.were too emotional to speak. Brown was granted bail and he will be

:02:41. > :02:43.sentenced on March 14. People who were abused in children's

:02:44. > :02:46.homes have for the first time in public been recalling the traumatic

:02:47. > :02:50.details of how they were treated. One former resident said the

:02:51. > :02:52.behaviour of nuns at a Sisters of Nazareth home in Londonderry was

:02:53. > :02:56."bordering on the psychotic" and likened the home to a concentration

:02:57. > :02:59.camp. You may find some of the details in this report by Newsline's

:03:00. > :03:04.Tara Mills distressing. Life at the children's home, but the evidence

:03:05. > :03:07.today tells a different story. Three former residents were the first to

:03:08. > :03:12.give their account of what happened. One described the home as

:03:13. > :03:15.a hellhole, saying the Sisters of Nazareth regularly kicked and

:03:16. > :03:20.stamped on them. The witness said the behaviour of the lens was

:03:21. > :03:25.bordering on the psychotic. Even their very presence was ominous. He

:03:26. > :03:27.described the damage done as permanent and said some of the

:03:28. > :03:34.former residents are still the boys who left, even though they are now

:03:35. > :03:37.in their 60s. He said they are sad, lonely and broken. The second

:03:38. > :03:42.witness said he was sexually abused when he was eight by an older

:03:43. > :03:46.resident at the home. He said he screamed and eight nun came in and

:03:47. > :03:51.when he tried to restrain what happened, she slapped him and said

:03:52. > :03:55.he was evil. The man who is now 74 said the older boys acted as a gang,

:03:56. > :04:00.beating him until he blacked out. There were times I thought I was

:04:01. > :04:04.going to die, he said. He said he was aware, even as a young child,

:04:05. > :04:09.that some of the younger nuns were not happy about what was going on

:04:10. > :04:18.but begins with bamboo sticks and canes were a regular occurrence. Two

:04:19. > :04:27.former residents spoke of being stripped naked and forced back with

:04:28. > :04:32.the others. The enquiry is protecting the identity of witnesses

:04:33. > :04:37.but when waved that protection today to allow his voice to be heard. Such

:04:38. > :04:43.places should not have existed, even back then. And there is no waste use

:04:44. > :04:48.of, those were the times. People knew about children and could care

:04:49. > :04:53.for them properly even back in the 1950s. There is no excuse that that

:04:54. > :04:58.was the way things work then. The enquiry will hear from more former

:04:59. > :05:01.residents tomorrow. Two police officers were slightly

:05:02. > :05:04.injured tonight when a stolen car reversed into their vehicle at speed

:05:05. > :05:10.in west Belfast. The police then used a stinger device on the car. It

:05:11. > :05:13.was abandoned in Suffolk Court. The driver and a passenger, who are both

:05:14. > :05:15.aged 23, were arrested. It's believed another passenger escaped

:05:16. > :05:19.the scene. The Police say they have spoken to a

:05:20. > :05:22.12-year-old boy in relation to car crimes on New Year's Eve. They are

:05:23. > :05:26.continuing to investigate a series of incidents where cars were driven

:05:27. > :05:29.erratically and at speed in the west Belfast area. The boy is to take

:05:30. > :05:32.part in youth conferencing where young offenders get the chance to

:05:33. > :05:36.understand the impact of their actions and make amends.

:05:37. > :05:40.A report has found that the probable cause of a plane crash in Cork that

:05:41. > :05:47.killed six people was a loss of control during an aborted landing.

:05:48. > :05:50.The pilot and co-pilot were among those who died when the Manx2 plane

:05:51. > :05:53.crashed on approach to Cork Airport on a flight from Belfast. The

:05:54. > :05:56.investigation made 11 safety recommendations. It said there was

:05:57. > :06:00.poor visibility, the crew was very tied and that there had been a lack

:06:01. > :06:11.of oversight by the Spainish aviation authorities.

:06:12. > :06:15.We do these investigations to determine a cause and make

:06:16. > :06:20.recommendations for appropriate action in order to prevent future

:06:21. > :06:23.accidents from happening. The aircraft was being operated by a

:06:24. > :06:27.certain airline which would have a certificate. In this case it was a

:06:28. > :06:30.bit more complicated than that. The funeral has taken place in

:06:31. > :06:33.Limavady of Simon Chase, who died in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan ten

:06:34. > :06:37.days ago. Several hundred people attended the service at Christ

:06:38. > :06:41.Church. Mr Chase, who was originally from Chester, had been living in

:06:42. > :06:44.Limavady with his partner and two sons. He was working for the EU

:06:45. > :06:48.police mission in Kabul when he and 20 others died.

:06:49. > :06:51.Residents campaigning against a proposed housing development in west

:06:52. > :06:56.Belfast say they hope to send hundreds of letters to objection to

:06:57. > :06:59.planners. People living near the former Visteon car plant off the

:07:00. > :07:02.Blacks Road were tonight given letters to send to the planning

:07:03. > :07:06.service. They object to a proposal for more than 200 units of social

:07:07. > :07:11.housing on the site. They say they want it retained for commercial use

:07:12. > :07:19.to bring jobs to the area. The core of our objection is the

:07:20. > :07:23.loss of the sustainable work site in the Visteon site and that is what we

:07:24. > :07:26.are really pushing for. We are hoping that by putting this forward,

:07:27. > :07:30.we can keep that cite this we can get some sustainable work for young

:07:31. > :07:33.people. Brian O'Driscoll insists he bears no

:07:34. > :07:37.ill-will towards Wales coach Warren Gatland. The Six Nations gets

:07:38. > :07:40.underway this coming weekend with Ireland's first game at home to

:07:41. > :07:43.Scotland on Sunday. But today, O'Driscoll fielded questions about

:07:44. > :07:46.facing Wales in Ireland's second match and facing the coach who

:07:47. > :07:54.controversially dropped him from the third and final Lions Test last

:07:55. > :08:00.summer. What happened, happened. No one can

:08:01. > :08:06.change it. I don't have any ill will towards Warren. It was raw

:08:07. > :08:12.afterwards, the emotions are a bit different. Kind to heal all wounds

:08:13. > :08:17.and I don't have any animosity towards him. I will look towards

:08:18. > :08:24.trying to be involved in a team that potentially can be his team. But

:08:25. > :08:29.that is next week. Ice hockey, and the Belfast Giants

:08:30. > :08:33.have won the first leg of their semifinal in the Challenge Cup. They

:08:34. > :08:34.defeated the Cardiff Devils 7-1. Now with the weather forecast,

:08:35. > :08:44.here's Cecilia Daly. It was very much a case of West is

:08:45. > :08:47.best to date but it looks as though the rain is going to be back more or

:08:48. > :08:51.less everywhere by the end of the night. Most of the wet weather is in

:08:52. > :08:56.Eastern counties but as the night goes on, it will extend further west

:08:57. > :09:01.as well. By morning, most places will have some rain. Another showery

:09:02. > :09:07.day to come. Particularly through the morning. That is when it will be

:09:08. > :09:13.wettest across most places. That means a lot of surface water when

:09:14. > :09:16.you are on your way to work or school. Looking at the bigger

:09:17. > :09:22.picture, it is fairly unsubtle generally across Britain and

:09:23. > :09:26.Ireland. Some sleet and snow falling over the higher ground of Scotland

:09:27. > :09:32.and northern England. Later in the day it will become drier across

:09:33. > :09:36.north-west Scotland. And improving picture if you live in the North and

:09:37. > :09:40.West tomorrow because it will become drier, although it will feel chilly

:09:41. > :09:47.in the easterly breeze. Still some wet weather bothering the south-east

:09:48. > :09:51.at times. On Thursday, it will be dry in many places, at least for a

:09:52. > :09:56.while. There will be some brightness and sunshine but it will feel cold.

:09:57. > :10:02.Temperatures really struggling. Rain is just waiting to come in and that

:10:03. > :10:04.is what returns on Friday. It stays unsettled through the weekend and we

:10:05. > :10:07.have an early warning out for some of leading issues by the end of the

:10:08. > :10:13.week. That's it for now. You can keep up

:10:14. > :10:15.to date with News Online and follow this programme on Facebook and

:10:16. > :10:17.Twitter. From BBC Newsline, good night.