VIDEO: Wheelie bin case - victim’s family ‘disappointed’ by sentence

Mervyn Robinson was speaking outside Belfast Crown Court after two men and a woman were given sentences totalling nine years for their roles in the false imprisonment of his son Adam, who was discovered by a dog walker in the town’s Sentry Hill park in September 2013.

“We’re very disappointed it has actually take so long to get here.

“We’ll try and put it behind us and move on.

“Adam wants to go down the town in Ballymena and walk about freely - who knows who he’s going to bump into some day when he walks around the corner.

“Ballymena’s not that big a town - he realises there’s a possibility of that happening and that probably plays on his mind too.

While stating that Adam was “very lucky to be found”, Mr Robinson thanked the dog walker who discovered him, stating: “ We thank him from the bottom of our hearts.”

When asked if he thought justice had been served, Mr Robinson said: “I will leave that to the good people of Ballymena to think about it.”