Catholic woman forced to flee home in Antrim

The SDLP has accused loyalists of forcing a Catholic woman to flee her home of 50 years in the mainly Protestant village of Ahoghill in Co Antrim.

The SDLP said Kathleen McCaughey had been resisting intimidation at the hands of loyalists for years, but had decided to leave her home following a recent intensification in the campaign.

Party spokesman Sean Farren claimed a drum-beating crowd gathered in front of her house on Thursday night in an effort to expel her and her family from the area.

"Despite her previously declared determination to stay, she had no option but to leave and had to do it under police protection," he said.