Coleraine: man charged with false imprisonment, domestic abuse and other offences following discovery of 'bag containing number of items'

The 40-year-old, who was arrested on Saturday morning in the Portstewart area, is expected to appear before Coleraine Magistrates Court on Monday, February 24.

He has been charged with common assault, false imprisonment, possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, domestic abuse offences and two counts of theft.

Police said, as is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

Earlier on Saturday, a senior PSNI officer confirmed that “a significant policing operation” had been put in place to try to identify the person responsible following the discovery of the items by a local person on Thursday, February 13.

Superintendent McIldowney said: “Local officers have worked relentlessly through countless hours of CCTV and forensic enquiries, and engaged with a significant number of people across the borough.

"Our investigation is ongoing and we have been engaging with the victim and providing them with support.”

Supt McIldowney added: “We take all reports seriously and are committed to making areas safe for everyone. As a police service our focus is to intervene early, relentlessly pursue perpetrators and disrupt any predatory behaviours in all spaces to keep women and girls safe.

"In relation to wider community reassurance I can confirm that we are not linking this to any other reports of suspicious activity in the Coleraine area in recent weeks.

"Through the planned community safety engagement event for women and girls in Coleraine next Thursday evening, we will address any personal safety concerns and actively listen to ensure the voices of local women and girls are heard.

"We have robust operational measures in place to deter those who seek to cause harm in our local communities, with targeted patrols in areas where women and girls have told us they feel unsafe.

"It’s important to note with the recent launch of the Power To Change campaign, our local district engagement teams have been provided with an operational toolkit to take this campaign out to local community groups and sporting clubs.

"We are keen to work with as many groups and organisations in our communities and partners to roll this campaign out far and wide and work together to end violence against women and girls.”

Anyone who has any concerns is encouraged to speak to officers on the ground, call police on 101 or make a report online via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/