Businessman ‘covered in blood after kick in head’ in Apprentice Boys parade

The family of a businessman say he was “left lying, knocked out” behind his shop following an assault during the Apprentice Boys’ Relief of Derry celebrations on Saturday.

The daughter of Damien Lynch, a father-of-three who owns a shop on Spencer Road in the Waterside area of the city, said there was “blood everywhere” when her father was kicked in the head – after cleaning up the mess left by people urinating in a public area to the rear of the family-run shop.

Read more: Apprentice Boys of Derry parade in one of loyal orders’ biggest events

Gemma Lynch, who was at the front of the shop when the incident happened, told Belfast Live it has been captured on CCTV.

Police say enquiries are “ongoing” following the report of an assault on Spencer Road.

Gemma said: “It was about half-four yesterday evening. My daddy went out to the laneway at the bottom of the quarry steps to hose down and put bleach down because they were using it as a toilet all day.

“You want to have smelled it. My daddy had just finished, he was walking up the lane at the back into our yard [at the rear of the shop]. He was an Apprentice Boy – he had the sash and all – and he came up [to urinate] and my daddy said; ‘Are you serious, I’m just finished cleaning up’.

“He sort of lifted the hose to squirt it at his feet, like the way you would chase a child, and this boy took it thick. He came over to my Daddy, got into his face, started pushing at my daddy so my daddy pushed him back. A wee bit of a scuffle. My daddy pushed him down and walked away to go back into the shop.

“Your man started pushing at my daddy again. My daddy slipped in the water, lost his footing and went down. This boy came running, or like a quick-step, and booted my daddy in the face the way you would boot a football – he knocked my daddy spark out.

“He walked on down the laneway as if he was all proud of himself, joined the back of the parade, and marched on out the Prehen Road.

“I have the video of everything happening. He was an older man, he wasn’t a young fella. I would say he was in his late 40s. He just walked away and left my daddy lying on the ground, knocked out. He walked away and left him lying.

“My daddy got up and walked down the ramp in the back yard to come in through the back doors of the shop, at the post office [inside the shop], and one of the other young fellas who was working said: ‘Go and get Matthew’ – that’s my brother, who was working too.

“Obviously Matthew came out and the other young fella came out and said to me: ‘Gemma you need to come in, your daddy is all blood’. I went running out the back. Now, I can handle things like that, I’m good in a crisis, but I got a fright when I seen my daddy’s face. It was pure red. There was blood everywhere.”

Ms Lynch also expressed concern about the lack of police presence on the street for this year’s parade.

“I had to run to the bottom of Duke Street, at the traffic lights, to get a policeman,” she said. “There wasn’t a policeman on that street all day.

“They were all sitting in cars and landrovers at the back of Dominoes. My daddy went down twice to ask for help and there wasn’t a policeman or woman to be seen on that street all day. We had to stop letting people into the shop. If something happened there was nobody to help.”

Mr Lynch was in the hospital on Saturday night.

“Nothing is broken and the doctor we seen last night said he doesn’t know how nothing is broken,” Gemma said.

“He’s badly bruised, and he’s in a while, while lot of pain in his jaw, his head, his nose. He’s done damage to his leg as well so he’s in crutches.”

Sinn Fein councillor Caitlin Deeney, who represents the Waterside area, said: “Reports of a man being assaulted yesterday in the Waterside after an Apprentice Boys parade are deeply concerning.

“Anyone with information on this incident should bring it forward to the police.”

A spokesperson for the PSNI said: “Police received a report of an assault in the Spencer Road area of Derry/Londonderry shortly before 6pm yesterday, Saturday August 12. Enquiries are ongoing and anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact police on 101 quoting reference 1295 of 12/08/23.”

A spokesperson for the Apprentice Boys told Belfast Live: “We would have no comment to make until we find out more details. Once we find out more details we may take more action if and when required.”

To get the latest breaking news from Co Derry straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter.