The nephew of alleged elder abuse victim "Auntie Em" has spoken out about why he no longer believes her identity needs to be protected.

Stephen Woodley told The Royal Gazette he agreed to take part in a television documentary in which he named his aunt as Wilhelmina Liburd earlier this year in order to honour her.

The 40-minute film made by the Bermuda Broadcasting Company (BBC) part of a three-part series entitled Between the Cracks was shown twice on TV last month and has had a public screening at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute

Father-of-three Mr. Woodley, who was brought up by 95-year-old Mrs. Liburd and has power of attorney for her, said: "My doing the documentary was simply to honour my aunt.

"I wanted to show it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. The best of times would be when my aunt got married (to Victor D. Liburd)and moved from Roberts Avenue to the tracks, which is now Palmetto Road, and then the tracks to Devonshire.

"In honouring her, you are ultimately going to show the good parts and the not so good parts.

"Mr. Woodley, of Rocklands Road, Warwick, said the low-point of his aunt's life was when she was forced to live in filthy, rodent and roach infested conditions at the home on Upland Street she once shared with her late husband.

Environmental health officers deemed the property unfit for human habitation and ordered her adopted daughter Rosamund Hayward, to clean it. Mrs. Liburd was eventually removed from the property and taken in by caregiver Yvonne Dawson in late 2006.

Mr. Woodley said he was solely responsible for the decision to name his aunt in the documentary and at no time disclosed Mrs. Hayward's name.

But his decision to identify Auntie Em in the film led Magistrate Tyrone Chin on Monday to lift reporting restrictions on a civil case brought by Ms Dawson against Mrs. Hayward.

The Royal Gazette, with the blessing of Mr. Woodley, argued in Magistrates' Court that there was no benefit to banning publication of information which could lead to the identity of Auntie Em as she was no longer anonymous.

Mr. Woodley, who is considering bringing legal proceedings himself against Mrs. Hayward for alleged rent arrears for the Upland Street home, said: "As a result of them (the Haywards)not cooperating with me, now everything is going to be exposed.

"He said he had no regrets about his decision to take part in the film. "The documentary was done very well indeed. I'm very proud of it. It totally honoured her and I'm very pleased with that."

Correction: The child sitting on Mrs. Liburd's lap in a photograph published on page six of yesterday's edition of The Royal Gazette was her nephew Stephen Woodley's grandson Rayquon, not his son. We apologise for the error.