Women held hostage during spate of burglaries
Last updated 20th Mar 2019
A number of women have been held hostage during separate burglaries in Newtownards and Belfast.
One was held at knife point- while a woman in her 70's was threatened in her bedroom.
The burglaries all have a similar pattern.
The men broke into the women's houses and demanded cash - one woman in her 50's had a stanley knife held to her face..
They then pushed her aginst the stairs and ransacked the house in the Mor-ay Crescent area of Ards..
Money, jewellry and antique medals were stolen.
An hour later - a elderly pensioner was threatened by two masked men in her Castlecoole Park home in south Belfast.
They made off empy handed but the incident left the woman in her 70s badly shaken..
Police then received a further report of another woman in her 50s who was held against a sofa while 2 men smashed a number of glass doors..
A 40 year old man in the Archdale Drive house was then chased outside by the robbers - who made off in a car in the area..
The men in all the attacks are described as being around 5”10 and wearing dark coloured clothing.
The spate of burglaries all happened within hours of each other last night - but no link is being made at this stage.
Speaking about the attack in the Archdale Drive area, Detective Sergeant O’Flaherty said: “Shortly before 9:20pm, it was reported that two men entered a house in the area. A woman aged in her 50s was held against a sofa in the area as they proceeded to smash glass to a number of doors inside the property. A male aged in his 40s, who was also inside the house was chased out of the property by the two men and made off in a car from the area. The female inside the property was not injured but left badly shaken.
“We are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 1478 19/3/19. Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.”