Elderly lady with Alzheimer’s targeted in second Coagh heist in three weeks

On Saturday night a group of men broke into the Main Street home of an elderly lady in the second heist in the village within three weeks.

The woman, in her eighties was left badly shaken, though unhurt, after the gang locked her in her bedroom before making off with off with an undisclosed sum of money.

While on Thursday, March 12 a home in Windsor Terrace was ransacked and windows were broken before money and jewellery were taken in the middle of the day.

Although the incidents may be completely unconnected, residents are being warned to “tighten their security measures” and “take extra care to ensure that their property is fully secured”.

DUP MLA Ian McCrea has voiced his disgust at the “heartless thugs” who robbed “a vulnerable pensioner”.

He said: “I was both sickened and disgusted to be informed that an elderly lady in her eighties was held captive in her own bedroom while a gang of heartless thugs ransacked her home.

“This news was indeed disturbing, especially given that only a number of weeks ago a home at Windsor Terrace, Coagh was robbed in broad daylight.”

Asking Coagh residents to watch out for their elderly neighbours, Sinn Fein’s Gavin Bell added: “I would ask for everyone in the area to be mindful of what’s going on around them at this time.

“I spoke with a local lady working in a local shop in the village and she had informed me that those who carried these crimes out may have been watching out for routines by residents and then preying on this - They struck when family members weren’t around.”

UUP councillor, Mark Glasgow, has expressed his sympathy for those who were targeted in the two robberies but voiced his concern at how cuts could further affect the level of policing in rural areas.

“PSNI will be a smaller organisation,” he said.

“This gives me serious concerns in regards to the level of policing within rural areas with these cuts implemented.”