A civilian witness described today how a bullet ripped through his coat as he ran in panic from British army fire on Bloody Sunday.
Mr William Hegarty, whose brother-in-law Michael Kelly was shot dead as soldiers opened fire during a civil rights march in Derry in January 1972, said he was trying to get away from the shooting when he felt a burning sensation in his left shoulder.
"There was a scorch mark across the very top of my shoulder as if someone had run a poker over it. I believe this was where a bullet had skimmed my shoulder," he said.
After inspecting his coat, he discovered two holes, one through the left lapel and the other at the back of the shoulder.
Mr Hegarty told the Saville Inquiry he was 19 at the time of the march when 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by members of the Parachute Regiment in the Bogside area of the city.
During the march he saw a man lying wounded after hearing a high velocity shot in William Street. He later discovered that the man was John Johnston, who died six months after Bloody Sunday.
Later, as he made his way to the rubble barricade in Rossville Street, Mr Hegarty said he saw two or three bodies lying on the ground.
"I am aware that Michael Kelly, my brother-in-law, may have been shot at the rubble barricade. I did not recognise him from where I was standing. If I had, I would have immediately run over to see if he needed help."
Mr Hegarty was the first witness to give evidence on the inquiry's first day after the Christmas and New Year break. Around 40 more witnesses, including former IRA men are due to give evidence over the next few weeks.
Three former paramilitaries - Provisional IRA man 18, Provisional IRA man 1 and Official IRA man 8 - have all applied to give evidence anonymously this week.
PA