Man Dies Following Crash At Nutts Corner

A man has died following a one vehicle road traffic collision at Ballyhill Road, Nutts Corner, on Saturday 12 July.

Police announced the driver of the vehicle, a white VW Golf, died at the scene attended by officers and members from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

A male passenger travelling in the vehicle was taken to hospital for treatment for non-life threatening injuries.

Roads Policing Inspector, Cherith Adair, said: "The Ballyhill Road was closed while detectives conducted enquiries and has now re-opened.

"The investigation remains ongoing, and we would ask anyone with mobile phone or dash cam footage, or information which might assist, to get in touch."

NIFRS Issues 11 July Update

The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) received 277 emergency calls between 6pm on 11 July and 2am on 12 July 2025, signalling an increase of 154% when compared to the previous year.

Firefighters attended 194 operational incidents, 72 of which being bonfire related.

NIFRS Area Commander Andy Burns further explained: "In addition to bonfire incidents, Firefighters attended a range of emergency calls, including a number of wildfires with five Fire Appliances at the Bloody Bridge area of Newcastle, a three-vehicle road traffic collision in Rathfriland with ten casualties, and a shed fire in Castlederg."

Commander Burns noted "it was a challenging and extremely busy night for NIFRS with an increase in demand for our Regional Control Centre and emergency response," before thanking firefighters, Regional Control Centre personnel and support employees involved for their efforts. The Commander also highlighted that a firefighter was attacked while attending a bonfire in Lisburn, but were not injured and remained on duty.

"This was an isolated incident and not reflective of the support shown to firefighters in carrying out their duties across the evening," he said.

Increased Grant Funding Threshold For Flood Protection Scheme

An increase in the grant funding threshold for the Homeowner Flood Protection Grant Scheme (HFPGS) has been announced by Northern Ireland Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins.

Following a review, the grant threshold for the scheme, which is intended to modify homes to make them more resistant to flooding through measures such as flood doors, airbrick covers, and non-return valves to underground drains, will increase from £10,000 to £13,700 to take into account inflationary increases, whilst improvements have been made to the eligibility criteria to streamline the application process.  

The scheme is specifically aimed at residential properties that have flooded internally in the past and continue to be exposed to frequent flooding.

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said: "I am pleased to be able to implement this increase to the funding threshold for the Homeowner Flood Protection Grant Scheme. This will help the owners of vulnerable homes which have flooded in the past,  from the ever-increasing threat of flooding. As climate change continues to intensify this threat, these practical solutions help mitigate the impact of flooding by preventing or reducing water damage."

The revised threshold is available for successful applicants who apply from April 2025. Full details of the scheme are available here.