Man charged over attempted murder of PSNI officer in 2008

A 44-year-old man has been charged with the attempted murder of a policeman in the North.

The officer was driving from his home in Castlederg, Co Tyrone, to start a night shift at Enniskillen police station in Co Fermanagh in May 2008 when a dissident republican bomb made up of 1lb (0.5kg) of high explosives, which was hidden under his car, detonated.

The injured policeman was able to escape the burning vehicle, but suffered serious leg wounds.

The accused has been charged with attempted murder, causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, and belonging to or professing to belong to a proscribed organisation.

He is due to appear in Dungannon Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

On Thursday, convicted dissident republican Gavin Coyle appeared before a judge in Strabane charged with the same crime.

Coyle, formerly of Culmore Park, Omagh, is currently serving a 10-year sentence for a range of other dissident terror offences.