Coleraine attack victim speaks out

Published Friday, 04 September 2009

The man who was attacked for a second time in Coleraine has made an emotional plea to those responsible.

Damien Fleming, 46, was assaulted by a loyalist mob and left for dead near his home, after disturbances flared between Rangers and Celtic fans in May.

His friend community worker Kevin McDaid, 49, was killed just feet away.

On Wednesday night he was assaulted again on his way home in the Heights area at around 11.30pm when two men got out of a car and brutally beat him.

"I was getting back flashes to the past one...and I thought this is my turn now," he told UTV exclusively.

"They shouted sectarian abuse at me."

"My nose is broken I was spitting up blood all day yesterday... Don't know what to do."

"I can't handle it anymore, I'm too afraid to stay here. I just want them to leave me alone," he added.

"I'm very nervous; I need to have people around me all the time."

'Stain'

Local politicians have condemned the latest attack.

"Nobody deserves the likes of this, it is absolutely incredible that people would wait for him and then attack him in such a way, leave him traumatised and injured", Sinn Fein Councillor Billy Leonard said.

"It is absolutely sick and yet another stain on Coleraine," he added.

"Unfortunately there are some elements who want to increase the tensions but that is the problem that has to be resolved", East Londonderry DUP MP Gregory Campbell said.

"The attack on Mr Fleming and on everyone one else has to be condemned, condemnation itself is not enough we need the perpetrators put behind bars of all the attacks in The Heights and elsewhere", he added.

Mr Fleming was discharged from hospital last month.

On Tuesday, the High Court heard that more than 20 people were under death threat following the killing of Kevin McDaid.

Half of those warned by police are witnesses, while the rest include men suspected of involvement in the attack in Coleraine, prosecutors revealed.

Eleven people have been charged in connection with Mr McDaid's murder and Mr Fleming's attempted murder.

Police have confirmed they are treating the incident at Pate's Lane as sectarian.

They have urged witnesses to contact them.

Comments

5 Comments

Tommy in Belfast wrote (991 days ago):

Mr McDaid was murdered in cold blood when a loyalist mob who entered his area hell-bent on subjugating the residents of that area by whatever means they could including murder. To suggest that he or Damien Flemming were attacked "after disturbances flared between Rangers and Celtic fans" is a cynical attempt to misrepresent what was an evil, cowardly, sectarian attack.

Gillian in Coleraine wrote (992 days ago):

I am absolutely disgusted that this could happen again, what is Coleraine becoming!! This is a lovely town with lovely people and this small element of scum have to be stopped! The right thinking people of the town do not want any more of this, whose turn will it be next. We want peace!!! The psni must find these criminals and extract them from our community so we can get on with living a normal life in peace....

Conor in west belfast wrote (992 days ago):

David, So two men just randomly jumped from a car, beat and kicked this man, shouted sectarian abuse at him (ding ding ding loyalists? <--) and then ran back to the car and drove off?! - And i guess the people who have given out death threats regarding the McDaid murder were not Loyalists either.. right mate.. catch a grip please

David Erwin in Coleraine wrote (992 days ago):

How does utv know that it was loyalists that attacked this man. This is the way it was reported and yet has this point been proved?

Coleraine Resident in Coleraine wrote (992 days ago):

Absolute disgrace. How can this happen again? PSNI would need to catch a grip and get all the cowards behind these secterian attacks inside before some innocent person gets killed again.