A Comber-based farm is enjoying life in the fast lane thanks to a multi-million pound investment in its facilities to meet demand from local buyers. Sparky Pac is situated at the foot of Scrabo Hill in Comber, where it supplies fresh, pre-packed vegetables to grocery retailers throughout Northern Ireland, including Tesco. James and Mark McKee, (pictured) run the family-owned business which was established in 1989 and, after becoming a limited company in 2008, was awarded a European Processing and Marketing Grant, through the Department of Agriculture and Invest Northern Ireland. £1.5m of this is being invested in a new state-of-the-art wash plant to meet quality standards and increasing commercial demands for its vegetables – including carrots, parsnips and brassicas.

PSNI Murder Case Arrest

A 22-year-old man has been arrested in Co Antrim over the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll. The police officer was shot dead by the Continuity IRA as he answered a distress call in Craigavon, Co Armagh, on 9 March last year. The PSNI said the man was arrested in the Newtownabbey area on Tuesday and is being questioned at Antrim police station. A teenager and a 38-year-old man are already in custody charged with the murder.

Stab Suspects Charged

A 23-year-old man is due to appear in court today while a 32-year-old man has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon and is set for court at a later date. It comes after an incident on the Malone Road in south Belfast in the early hours of Sunday in which a 21-year-old man was stabbed in the stomach. The 23-year-old is facing charges of attempted murder, two assaults on police and possession of an offensive weapon.

Sunday Marathon Looms

Belfast City Council will decide tonight if it is going to support a proposal to switch the Belfast marathon from its current Monday date to a Sunday. The controversial issue has been on the agenda since former PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde questioned the cost-effectiveness of staging the event on the May Day bank holiday when police officers were entitled to double their usual hourly rate and, if the proposal gets universal backing, the sporting showpiece could be moved to the preceding Sunday as early as next year. See: Marathon Effort Wins Day

NIE May Be Sold To Irish Republic

The main electricity company in the Irish Republic, ESB, has confirmed it is in talks to buy Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), the transmission and distribution business of Viridian, Northern Ireland's main power company. NIE's ultimate owner is Arcapita, a Bahrain-based bank, which bought Viridian in 2006 for more than £1.6bn. Arcapita reportedly tried to sell Viridian in 2008 though a buyer was not found. The announcement about talks with ESB was made in statement to the Irish Stock Exchange this morning.

Bank Cashes In

The Northern Bank has continued to recover profitability, according to its financial results for the first quarter of 2010. The bank made a profit of £2m in the first three months of the year while in the same period in 2009 it lost £45m. The bank returned to profitability in the last quarter of 2009 when it made £2.2m. The recovery is mainly due to a reduction in the amount that had to set aside to cover losses on bad loans.

Sinn Féin Calls For End To Illegal Dumping In Derry

Sinn Féin Foyle MLA Raymond McCartney has appealed for an end to illegal dumping in the Springtown Road area of Derry. Mr McCartney made his call after being contacted by a number of residents concerned about the environmental impact and public health implications it was having there. "This problem has been ongoing now for a number of years," he said. "Sinn Féin is concerned not only about the environmental damage but the long term health of local residents due to this indiscriminate fly-tipping by people obviously from outside the local area, who have no vested interest in the health nor well being of the local community who live along the Springtown Road." He continued: "Residents are rightly concerned about the environmental impact and public health implications this illegal dumping is having on the area. I have been in contact with the cleansing department and made them aware of the situation at Springtown Road and asked for a clean up of the area."

(BMcC/GK)