A 30-year-old man has been charged with murder and attempted murder following the death of a man and the serious assault of a priest in Downpatrick.

Father John Murray was struck on the head in a brutal attack at St Patrick’s Church in Downpatrick on Sunday.

The body of Stephen Brannigan was found at a house in Co Down on Sunday.

Police say the attack may be linked to the death of a man in the Co Down town on Sunday.

A murder investigation has been launched and a man aged in his 30s is in police custody.

Officers were ‘punched, kicked and spat at’ as they responded to calls on Friday and Saturday night in Downpatrick, Co Down.

The two female nurses were praised for wading into the sea to rescue the siblings who had been caught out by the rising tide.

Officers received a report about the alleged incident in the Samson’s Lane area of Downpatrick on Tuesday morning.

The women were injured in an incident at a property in Downpatrick on Friday.

The incident occurred in a property on Stream Street in Downpatrick on Friday.

The man died when he was in collision with a car in Downpatrick on Sunday afternoon.

Stormont Economy Minister Conor Murphy also mooted linking up the Hidden Heartlands in the Republic with Co Fermanagh.

The relief money comes after severe flooding hit a number of areas of counties Down and Armagh in late October and early November.

On Monday, the Quoile Bridge connecting Downpatrick to Killyleagh was closed, after a crack appeared between the wall and road surface of the bridge.

Large parts of the town centre remained under water on Saturday