Northern Ireland

Police investigate spate of aggravated burglaries in Belfast and Ards

POLICE are investigating a spate of burglaries including one where the intruder was armed with a knife.

One burglary, at Collingwood Avenue of south Belfast, was reported around 4am today when a man armed with a knife, entered the property and subsequently made off with a black puma bag and a number of electronic items.

The family, who were home at the time, were not physically hurt but left shaken by the incident.

The intruder is described as being aged in his 40s, with dark hair, and approximately 5 ft 8 in height. He is described as wearing a black jacket with white writing on the sleeve and grey tracksuit bottoms.

There were three burglaries involving two intruders just hours apart on Tuesday night.

The first was reported at a house in the Moray Crescent area of Newtownards at around 7.15pm when two men entered a house, one of whom was armed with a Stanley knife. A woman in her 50s had the knife held against her face during the incident, as the men demanded money.

She was pushed against the stairs while the men ransacked the bedroom of the property. They men made off with a sum of money and a quantity of jewellery including some antique medals.

Police also responded to reports of a burglary at a house in the Castlecoole Park area of south Belfast just an hour later when two men gained entry to the house and confronted a woman in her 70s in a bedroom where they demanded money. The pair, described as 5ft 10in tall and wearing dark clothes and glove, fled empty-handed.

In a separate aggravated burglary at around 9.20pm two men broke into a property in Archdale Drive, also south Belfast, and confronted a woman in her 50s. The men, held the woman in the living room while they ransacked the property. They fled when confronted by a man in the house and made off in a car. The woman was not injured but left shaken.

One of the men is described as being 5ft 8in tall, medium build, aged in his 20-30s. He is described as wearing a dark jacket, dark trousers and gloves. The second man is described as being around 5ft 11in tall, slim build and wearing dark coloured clothing.