Prosecution witnesses to give evidence

Historical assault trial resumes

The trial of an Island man accused of a string of assaults at a private boarding school will hear from the first prosecution witnesses today (Monday).

Derrick Cooper of Hillberry Green in Douglas denies six charges alleging actual bodily harm assault and two allegations of cruelty to a person under 16.

The 77 year-old is one of six former teachers and workers accused of historical assaults and cruelty at the South Cumbria school during the 1970s and 1980s.

Last week, a jury at Carlisle Crown Court heard how one pupil was head butted and had his eyes gouged; one had his hand placed in a woodwork vice before being hit with a mallet; and another was punched and kicked before being stripped and made to walk naked up and down a corridor in front of others.

The trial is expected to last up to eight weeks.