Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHILDREN’S DEATHTRAP
12-yr-old girls party at illegal site where terrorists hide guns
AN illegal party site used by children as young as 12 is a deathtrap where dissidents hide bombs and weapons, the Daily Mirror can reveal.
Police have issued a stark warning about the abandoned factory site in Lurgan, Co Armagh, after finding girls with blankets planning to stay the night among stoned strangers and vomiting youths. A PSNI spokesman said: “This isn’t a playground – it’s a deathtrap. What’s going on here is way beyond anti-social behaviour. It’s dangerous.”
A CHILD is going to be seriously hurt or killed at an abandoned factory site used for all-night drug and drinkfuelled parties, police have warned. Kids as young as 12 are travelling from across Co Armagh to meet there away from adults. And many parents are even dropping their youngsters off at a hole in the hedge beside the site in Lurgan. Now the PSNI has warned families they could soon be facing the tragic consequences of allowing their children anywhere near the place. They have revealed the land where a factory once stood in Victoria Street has been used by dissidents to hide explosives and build unstable bombs. In addition to being at risk from live devices, police are warning paraphernalia found at the site shows young kids partying there are also exposed to drink, drugs, strangers, sex and weapons. They have even discovered gangs of 12-year-old girls with blankets intent on staying overnight after convincing their parents they were staying with friends. The PSNI has now produced a video to show the appalling dangers at the wasteground, including an exposed, unused well, a knife, empty drugs bags and home-made bongs. A spokesman said: “This isn’t a playground – it’s a death trap. What’s going on here is way beyond anti-social behaviour. It’s dangerous. “Just like a building site, this is not a safe place for anyone during the day so just imagine it at night.” Video footage collected from the area in recent weeks shows children from across Craigavon and beyond travelling to drink at the site. The spokesman added: “We’ve dealt with ones from Lurgan, Portadown, Derrymacash, Aghagallon and all in between. “If you know your child hangs around the old factory site on Victoria Street, then it’s time to up your game. “If there’s even a possibility they are, then watch this video and take stock. We’re doing our best to keep young people safe – what are you doing? “The site is private land so we can’t secure it. That puts the onus on everyone else to do their part.” The video starts with an image of a hole in a hedge and urges parents to get real about what is behind it. The spokesman said: “We picked up a 14-year-old boy who was unable to speak, was covered in his own urine and had been abandoned by his friends. “We picked up a 14-year-old semiconscious girl who was throwing up. We had to keep clearing her mouth to stop her choking on her own vomit. She spent nearly 24 hours in hospital. “A 13-year-old boy who had collapsed out of sight had been forgotten by his friends. It was only by chance we stumbled across him. “Fires have been set across the site. Your kids could be playing just feet away from bombs. “Dissidents have been known to use this site to hide weapons. One exploded last year when no one was near it. “That’s how unstable they are. Now imagine if your child stepped on something in the dark. “It’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed and we don’t want to be giving that knock on your door.”