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Ex-soldier in court over Cunningham shooting 41 years on

A FORMER soldier has appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of a man with learning difficulties in Co Armagh 41 years ago.

John Pat Cunningham (27), was shot three times in the back as he ran from a British army patrol near his home in Benburb in June 1974.

Dennis Hutchings (73) with an address near Torpoint in Cornwall, appeared in Omagh Magistrates' Court on Saturday. He is the first person ever to be charged in connection with the killing.

He was arrested on Tuesday by the PSNI Legacy Investigation Branch in England. Mr Cunningham, a disabled farm worker, was shot in a field near his home in Benburb in June 1974.

He was 27 but had a mental age of between six and 10. He was walking home when he was approached by a military patrol deployed on follow-up operations after a different patrol was involved in a shooting with IRA gunmen two days earlier.

Mr Cunningham appeared startled, ran away and was shot.

Mr Hutchings was granted bail.