Judgement due on school abuse compensation claims

A judgement is expected today into compensation claims by five men who were abused as young boys at a school in East Yorkshire.

It's one of the largest compensation claims against the Catholic Church with more than 200 men saying they were abused at the approved school in Market Weighton in the 1970s and 80s.

Two staff members were jailed earlier this year. The former principal James Carragher - who's now 75 - was jailed for nine years. Anthony McCallen, 69, and the former chaplain was jailed for 15 years. The judge told them their crimes had blighted the lives of their victims.

Abusers: James Carragher and Anthony McCallen

The residential school, which closed in 1992, provided residential care and education for boys aged 10 to 16 with emotional and behavioural problems.

It was run by the De La Salle order, on behalf of Middlesbrough Diocese, which has apologised "unreservedly" to those affected by the abuse and for the actions of its former principal.

If the compensation claim succeeds, the eventual payout could run into millions of pounds.