Man on attempted murder charge after 'row over dog'

Andrew Yearl, 27, of Coolnasillagh Road in Garvagh appeared via video link at Limavady Magistrates' Court, sitting in Coleraine, on Wednesday.

A man has appeared in court charged with attempted murder after a man was struck with a metal bar up to 40 times in an argument over a dog, a court has been told.

Andrew Yearl, 27, of Coolnasillagh Road in Garvagh, County Londonderry, appeared via video link at Limavady Magistrates' Court, sitting in Coleraine, on Wednesday.

He is charged with the attempted murder of a man in Kilrea on 17 June and assaulting him, causing actual bodily harm.

The defendant is also accused of making threats to kill a woman and causing unnecessary suffering to a dog on the same date.

'Where is my dog?'

A police officer told the court that he could connect the accused to the charges and opposed bail.

The court was told that on 17 June just after 21:00 BST, two men entered a house in Kilrea where the alleged victim was sleeping.

Mr Yearl is accused of taking a metal bar from a door frame in the property and hitting the man between 30 and 40 times with it.

The injured man suffered fractures to his face, ankles, ribs and lacerations and will need to attend hospital for further surgery.

The court was that police believe the incident was over a dog that had gone missing.

While the injured man has not been able to make a formal statement is said to have implicated Mr Yearl in the assault.

Mr Yearl is alleged to have said: 'Where is my dog?' during the attack.

The officer said the same man had been assaulted earlier on the same day with a breeze block at his mother's home and threatened that he was "going to get murdered over a dog".

The officer also told the court that when police went to Mr Yearl's house they found a badly-injured dog in a room was had to be put down due to the severity of its injuries.

The court was told that during interview ,Mr Yearl admitted hurting the dog, but claimed it was in self-defence after he was attacked by the animal.

The officer said the bandages on the defendant’s hands were dressing to injuries “consistent with having been attacked by a dog".

Police objected to bail due to concerns about witness interference and that the alleged weapon used in the incident had yet to be recovered.

District Judge Peter King refused bail and remanded Mr Yearl into custody to appear again next month.