County Antrim: Bushmills ‘left in shock’ after man nailed to fence

People in Bushmills have been left “in shock” after a serious attack in which a man was nailed to a fence, an MP has said.

A man has been taken to hospital following the incident in a car park in the County Antrim town in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The man, in his 20s, was found hanging from a fence with a nail in each hand.

UUP leader Doug Beattie said the attack showed “every indication” that it had been carried out by loyalist paramilitaries.

Police said paramilitary involvement was a key focus of the investigation.

Two vans, one of which belonged to the injured man, were found ablaze in the car park near Dundarave Park.

Graffiti on nearby public toilets has been linked to the assault and arson.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the man suffered potentially life-changing but not life-threatening injuries.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton told BBC News NI it was a “truly shocking incident with a level of, almost extreme, violence”.

He called for a stronger, multi-agency response to so-called paramilitary attacks.

“They are criminals and need to be treated as such and I think we are giving them a little too much credibility because we don’t have a better explanation for them,” the UUP leader said.

Such attacks are “intended to instill fear in communities” and make it difficult for people to confront those responsible, he added.

“(The) only way to address this is to use everything we have at our disposal – MI5, NCA, PSNI, HMRC – all working together to break these people up… to make sure we lock them away, and do so for a long time.” he said.

Mr Beattie said authorities “really need to look at this from top to bottom” and criticized the use of separate prison systems in Northern Ireland.

“They go to prison and come out with the title of brigadier and some sort of praise within communities – all of that has to end,” he added.

Alliance MP Sian Mullholland described the attack as “completely inappropriate and unjustifiable”.

She said there was “no place for vigilantism,” adding that it was “something that should not be happening in our society in 2024.”

“If people have concerns, the police and the justice system are the only path we have to follow – otherwise we’re in the Wild West,” Ms Mulholland told BBC News NI.

She added that the “ripple effects” of the “barbaric” attack would be felt beyond the victim, namely by the community in Bushmills, the emergency services who responded to the incident and tourists who were in camper vans on the site during the attack Parking lot stayed overnight.

DUP MP Paul Frew said: “This criminal and violent behavior cannot be tolerated in a peaceful community and must be condemned.”

TUV boss Jim Allister expressed his “shock at the cruel and cruel attack”.