A Co Tyrone motor mechanic who survived two assassination attempts within a year has been awarded damages of £10,000.
The attacks on Mr Kieran Loughran (29), of Killucan, Cookstown, took place when masked gunmen burst into his garage at Dunamore in September 1993 and again in July 1994.
Mr Loughran described at Cookstown County Court yesterday how on the first occasion "he had grappled with the gunman, and during the struggle the handgun went off.
In the second attack, the gunman stepped out of a car and raked his garage with gunfire before he managed to escape.
Mr Loughran told Judge Ronnie Weatherup that following the second attack he left the North and went to live in Co Cavan. He did not return to Co Tyrone until after the loyalist ceasefire in 1994.
He said that as a result of the assassination attempts he suffered from anxiety and nerves. Mr Loughran received the damages for personal injuries and nervous shock. His claim was against the Compensation Agency.