Resident praised for stolen cars discovery

A local resident was out walking his dog along the Quarterlands Road and after noticing suspicious activity, he contacted the police.

Following enquiries, detectives uncovered two stolen vehicles.

One of the vehicles recovered was a white Volkswagen Golf which had been stolen from Sandyknowes Way in Newtownabbey, on April 15.

Then sometime between April 14 and 15, a red Ford Focus which had been stolen from the Old Beach Green, off the Castlewellan Road, in Banbridge was also discovered.

At the time of the theft in Banbridge, owners of the stolen car told the Banbridge Leader that they had been left shaken.

Thieves entered their house during the night before making off with their four-month-old red Ford Focus which had been parked in the driveway, while they were still awake in the house.

The owner of the car said at the time, “I came downstairs that morning to find the door was wide to the wall. I always lock the doors and am careful to keep everything locked, so I looked around to see what was gone and discovered the car missing from the driveway. “We work so hard for everything we have,” she added.

The owner said that she was also annoyed that along with the car she lost a new child car seat and a bike which was a Christmas present belonging to her two-year-old niece.

Detective Constable Ferguson praised the member of the public who discovered the illegal site.

“We received a report of a property with a number of cars that appeared to be stripped down on Sunday, April 26,” he said. “We attended and found two cars in the process of having parts removed.

“We were able to confirm that the red Ford Focus had been stolen from Banbridge and a white Volkswagen Golf had been stolen from Newtownabbey.

“We would like to hear from anyone who has information which may assist our investigation. We can be contacted in CID in Lisburn on 101.

“If you prefer to provide information without giving your details you can contact the independent Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Mr Ferguson said the collaboration between police and the community when it comes to tackling criminality, reporting suspicious activity and gathering information is vital and the partnership approach has again brought results.