Alex Easton parental tragedy: Orange district chief stresses 'we are here for him'

​Meanwhile Bill Keery, a close friend of Mr Easton (and a fellow DUP man-turned-independent) spoke of how devoted the North Down MLA had been to his elderly and infirm parents Alec and Ann.

The pair were both in their 80s and were wheelchair users (in Alec’s case, because of a double leg amputation).

They died following a blaze at their two-storey home in Dellmount Park on the the south-eastern edge of Bangor.

Mr Easton has been an MLA for North Down since 2003, and was a former councillor in the area. He quit the DUP in 2021.

A long-serving member of the Orange Order, Mr Easton is the chaplain of Clelands Royal Standard LOL 769 in Bangor.

Gary Taylor, district master for Bangor (and a member of Cottown LOL 1029 in the town) said: "I spoke to somebody from his lodge yesterday who hadn't heard until I rang him.

"The poor man had to go off the phone – he was totally shocked.

"It's bad enough the one without the two – it’s harrowing.

"I've let him know we're here for him. Our thoughts and prayers are totally with him.

"As I said to him, I'm only at the other end of the phone if he needs me or anybody else, because it will hit him hard.

"[I just feel] sadness at the thought of Alex having to go through this. He's one of ours.”

Alderman Keery said that the two of them, plus councillor Wesley Irvine (Mr Easton's constituency assistant), form a kind of political trio in north Down.

He said that Mr Easton's parents lived "just round the corner from me".

"Alex every day would've called in, would've done the shopping for them and so forth.

"He did it very quietly without telling too many people what he was at. But I can assure you: he looked after his parents.

"I spoke to him about an hour after it happened. The guy was absolutely gutted. I asked him did he want me to come round to give him a bit of support.

"He said no, his wife and his family were all there.

"It's horrendous news – absolutely horrendous. To lose two parents in one blow is horrific.

"Alex and Wesley and myself had been working towards this council election coming up.

"Obviously that's out the window at the moment –Alex has other things on his mind, and we'll try and support him as best we can over these coming weeks."

Councillor Irvine meanwhile said: “The last few years, with his dad's mobility issues, he was in touch very regularly with them and went and got shopping regularly for them.

"The fire brigade were on the scene quite quickly after the call. I think everybody did what they could under the circumstances, and we'd praise the efforts of all the emergency services.”

Naomi Armstrong-Cotter, DUP party whip in Ards and North Down, said: “When I heard it yesterday, I felt sick.

"I said to Wesley: ‘Please tell me this is wrong.’

"Tell Alex I'm fervently praying for him. The only thing you can do is pray.

"Alex was known in the party to being really good to his mum and dad – it's a close family.”

She added that while “we have absolute certainty they are in glory," it is still an extremely tough time for the surviving family.

Peter Weir, a former DUP minister for North Down (as well as an ex-education minister) said: “It's so unexpected. I think it's fairly incomprehensible and very difficult for people to get their head around how terrible blow it must be to lose both parents at the one time.

"For all of us, no matter how old we get, we still have that strong bond with parents.”