Ballymena man on ‘Estate’ show was death blaze hero

HE’S been labelled a ‘zero’ as one of the participants in the controversial BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary about Coleraine’s Ballysally estate - but Ballymena native Martin Laverty was hailed as a hero when he rescued children from an inferno in Dunclug almost 17 years ago.

For the past week, social media sites have been bristling with derogatory comments about the alcoholic’s lifestyle with many slamming the benefits he is alleged to have received. But few know that Martin’s descent to despair was prompted by the trauma of that fire rescue.

Martin Laverty (36) and his dog Bobby feature prominently in ‘The Estate’ which has been described as a real-life version of Shameless’

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Martin was 19 when he received a bravery award from the Mayor of Ballymena for helping to drag hree children from a burning house in Ballymena.

In an interview with The Scottish Sun, Martin said: “The mum had locked them in a room. She then poured petrol on them and set them on fire.

“She did the same to herself, too. I managed to drag the three kids out, but the mum burned alive and fell down the stairs on top of me. It was horrific and has left me mentally scarred.”

Martin, who had been working as a painter and decorator, said the terrible incident forced him to turn to the bottle.

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“I’ve slept rough in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Waterford — every big town in Ireland, really.”

Martin is happy with how he was portrayed in the programme even if many have slammed his antics.

“People will have to watch the whole series to get the full picture,” he said.