'Blatant' thieves hit three homes

The man's Windsor Lodge home was targeted in what appears to have been an audacious and planned operation on a number of homes in the Waringstown area.

Thieves broke into the 65-year-old's home while he and his family slept soundly in their beds.

He said: "This was how blatant they were - they had the nerve to break into a house which had three cars in the driveway - they must have suspected there could have been four or five people in the house.

"They were in and out within minutes. To think that someone was in your house - well it's not nice."

The thieves removed the front window of the man's house, took the flat screen TV off the wall and made their escape through the French double doors. Police said a number of homes were robbed in a similar fashion in the early hours of Friday morning.

"There's no doubt this was a planned operation by professionals," said the Waringstown resident.

"There must have been a group of them and they could have been through other houses within minutes and out of the development within half an hour or so.

"We think they may have even been round the night before to prepare the windows to make their job easier and quicker the next night."

The resident said he would not let the thieves take more than a TV set, he went on: "Already we are considering extra security measures.

"We are very aware of this kind of incident can do and how it can dominate your life and you end up making your home into a prison.

"It's not really the theft, but the invasion of your privacy what they have taken can't be returned.

"But we are not going to let that happen, we are trying to move on and not allow these people to take more than just a television from us."

Police are investigating three burglaries in the Windsor Lodge area of Waringstown during the early hours of Friday morning.

Anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the area overnight between Thursday and Friday, January 28-29, is asked to get in touch with police on 0845 600 8000 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.