Monthly Archives: November 2019

A 14 year-old girl has died after falling into a river in Northern Ireland – this is what we know so far. What happened? The emergency services were tasked to the Inver River in Larne at around 9.00pm on Wednesday evening after a 14 year-old girl entered the water. There are no further details except the PSNI is investigating the circumstances surrounding the girl’s death. A post-mortem will now take place. I read the girl had been rescued from the river – was this officially confirmed? A photograph from the scene where a 14 year-old entered the Inver River in Larne on Tuesday evening – the girl passed away a while later. Yes. The PSNI confirmed the girl was rescued and taken to hospital in Antrim but sadly passed away a short time later. What are people saying about what happened? UUP MLA Roy Beggs has described the incident as … Continue reading →

Media captionFriends of 14-year-old Gracie Gordon speak about their memories of her A 14-year-old girl has died after falling into a river in Larne, County Antrim, on Tuesday night. She went into the River Inver at about 21:00 GMT and a rescue operation including firefighters, ambulance staff, the Coastguard and police began. The victim, who has been named locally as Gracie Gordon, was taken out of the water and treated by paramedics but later died. Her death is believed to have been a tragic accident. ‘Steep embankment’ The incident was reported to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) at 21:17 GMT on Tuesday. “Appliances from Larne Fire Station and Ballyclare Fire Station as well as our specialist rescue team attended the incident,” said NIFRS Commander Dermot Rooney. “The specialist rescue team rescued the 14-year-old girl from the river and used specialist equipment to lift her up a steep … Continue reading →

Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs has congratulated recipients of the Queen’s Birthday Honours. In a statement, Mr Beggs said: “Congratulations to Queen’s birthday honours recipients across Northern Ireland, with special mention to Jacqueline Stewart MBE (services to education at Downshire School) and Walter Lambe MBE (East Antrim Boys’ Brigade).” Also paying tribute was Carrickfergus Academy which offered “congratulations and best wishes” to the former principal, describing her as a “very worthy recipient”. Parliamentary reports show first speaker only – follow this lnk for the full transcription. Articles may come from parliamentary reports, various public news feeds and Google News Search. Content is republished here for context. Copyright is respected and remains with the original author at all times. Original Article:https://www.larnetimes.co.uk/education/beggs-congratulates-east-antrim-honours-recipients-1-8958236

<!– –> Just more than a third of the most urgent ambulance calls were responded to within time targets in Northern Ireland over the last year, figures show. Increased demand caused by the ageing population may be responsible for the “outrageous” slippage, Ulster Unionist health spokesperson Roy Beggs said. The official target is 72.5 per cent of the most serious calls reached within eight minutes. The actual rate achieved in the past year was 37 per cent. While the true percentage of calls requiring such a speedy response may be much lower, the ambulance service plans to introduce major changes by 2021 and recruit hundreds of extra staff. Mr Beggs said: “I am extremely concerned that patients’ lives are being placed at risk as a result of the rapidly deteriorating response times of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS).” He obtained the statistics, characterised as a “major breach” of a … Continue reading →

Knockagh Ulster Unionist Cllr. Andrew Wilson has thanked the electorate for returning him to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. Cllr. Wilson said “To receive the continued support of the Knockagh electorate is humbling and I aim to continue to work hard for our local area along with the other elected members. “It is a strange position I find myself in at the age of 31, as the only remaining councillor for the area, to be returned from the previous mandate and as a three term veteran from my first election in 2011 to Carrickfergus Council. “I would like to thank those who helped with my campaign and of course thank my election agent Roy Beggs for his help and guidance throughout. With all elections there are winners and losers and I was fortunate on this occasion. “I would like to commiserate with all the candidates who lost out – … Continue reading →