Staff suspended amid cruelty claims

Claims concern Fleming Fulton school in Belfast

Parents of pupils at Fleming Fulton school in Belfast are to be told that two members of staff have been suspended pending an investigation.

Belfast Education and Library Board said they wanted to keep parents informed.

They are expected to release a formal statement confirming the suspensions on Friday.

The announcement follows police inquiries into allegations of cruelty by some former members towards children at the school.

Officers are already investigating allegations of cruelty between 1977 and 1988 and more than 60 statements have been taken.

The allegations concern the treatment of children who lived in residential chalets at the south Belfast school.

A report on the allegations has been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions who will decide if the matter should go to court.

A number of former residents and their relatives told the BBC they were punished for incontinence or not eating their meals.