Coach hire company forced to close business after threats

A County Londonderry coach hire company has been forced to close business because of attacks and threats from loyalists, the owner has said.

Damian Convery, of DC Coach and Minibus Hire in Bellaghy, said the attacks on his buses began at the start of the summer and that the damage to the company's buses, which provide transport to sporting clubs throughout the southern area of the county, had cost around £3,000.

Mr Convery said that he had originally received a telephone threat from a group calling itself the South Londonderry Protestant Volunteers. The threat warned him to stop working with the Gaelic Athletic Association, to which he provides buses to bring junior teams to games.

On Friday evening, the RUC contacted Mr Convery to inform him that a telephone warning had been given claiming that a bomb had been placed on one of the coaches.

Although nothing was found, Mr Convery said he was no longer prepared to put his passengers or his drivers at risk and that his yard was locked and would remain so until the threat was lifted. (MB)