Burglary thwarted by sharp eyed witness

A police spokesman said: “Unfortunately a house was burgled in Lurgan earlier this morning. We had a star of a witness who phoned in to police at the time saying he thought his neighbours house was being burgled.

“This enabled response and neighbourhood officers to respond swiftly to the scene. Although the suspects escaped, his call undoubtedly prevented his neighbours and other homes in the area and across the District becoming victims of burglary too.

“Valuable detail was gleaned from the witness information and this has already proved helpful in the ongoing investigation.

“We are so often frustrated when we carry out house to house enquiries after a burglary only to discover that a neighbour has maybe watched the burglary occur or thought something was amiss but didn’t think to ring police or didn’t like to bother us.

“Please always report any suspicious activity you see around your house/street or road. You would like your neighbours to do the same for you. We would much rather the opportunity to check something out and update you rather than respond to a report of a burglary.”

The spokesman added: “Our witness this morning is a shining example of a good neighbour doing his bit to tackle burglary and help the police - thank you very much!

“Might you be our next witness?”