ERVINE BLAMES LVF DRUG-DEALERS FOR BOMBING

Shoppers in Bangor town centre watched in horror as a man collapsed out of
a van yesterday after being critically injured in a booby-trap bomb attack.

The attack is not being directly linked to the UVF-UDA feud on the
Shankill, although it is understood to have loyalist paramilitary
connotations. The Progressive Unionist Party blamed "LVF drugs-dealers".

Mr Sandy Rice, head of security at a night-club in Bangor, suffered severe
lower limb injuries when he took the full force of the bomb, which was
planted in the undercarriage of the van, under the driver's section.

The explosion happened at High Street at 10.30 a.m., hours after a
suspected UVF bomb attack on a UDA prisoners' centre on the Shankill.

Mr Rice and two other men had just pulled out in the Ford Transit van from
behind the Marine Court Hotel when the bomb exploded. They had been working
at a nearby cafe. Mr Rice, who was a loyalist internee in the early 1970s,
was severely injured. His colleagues suffered cuts and shock.

Mr Robert and Mrs Brenda Milliken from Bangor were walking along High
Street at the time of the blast. "The man just fell out of the van on to
the road. There was a lot of blood, and the lower part of his body seemed
to be very badly injured," said Ms Milliken.

"He did not speak. He did not scream, He just lay there. I would say he was
in terrible shock. The two boys who got out of the van also seemed terribly
shocked," said Mr Milliken.

The PUP Assembly member, Mr David Ervine, said Mr Rice, who also ran a
boxing club and an electricity business, had had problems with LVF
drug-dealers who, in line with the club's policy, he ejected.

"This man was under serious threat of losing his life because of his stand
against the drugs-dealers. He has evicted these people, and this is the
price paid. It has nothing to do with the Shankill," Mr Ervine added.

The North's Minister responsible for security, Mr Adam Ingram, said the
bombing in a busy town centre filled with shoppers was grotesque. "The
government will not tolerate these attacks, which are the result of
gangsterism involving relatively small numbers of people. The security
forces will continue to protect the public, but ultimately the solution
lies with the community," he added.

Mr Ingram appeared to see a link between the attack and the Shankill feud,
notwithstanding Mr Ervine's comments. He urged the UVF and UDA factions to
find a resolution to their feud. But there is little indication of that
happening. Shortly before 2 a.m. yesterday a suspected UVF bomb badly
damaged a building in the Shankill Road used by the Prisoners Aid and
Post-Conflict Re-settlement group.

A tail fin for a mortar bomb, component parts for a pipe bomb, balaclavas
and combat clothing were found on the damaged premises that cater for
former UDA prisoners. Nobody was hurt in the attack.

Mr John White, of the Ulster Democratic Party, which is linked to the UDA,
said the UVF had lost its way. "The only way this will come to an end is
for the UVF leadership to take control of their organisation and control
the thugs and bully boys who are running about intimidating women and
children, burning people out of their homes and blowing buildings up," he
added.

As the loyalist feud continues the number of families forced from their
homes has risen to 186. A further 11 had to leave over the weekend,
according to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

The RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, said the RUC would continue
to police the Shankill heavily. However, the feud was also a "societal
problem", he said.

"This is a community ripping itself apart. We can only do so much, we can
only provide protection, but society has to grip this problem. All
representatives - public representatives, community representatives -
everyone of influence must exercise that influence for the good if we are
going to see this ultimately solved," Sir Ronnie told UTV.