Jewellery and phone taken in aggravated Mullingar burglary

Mullingar gardaí have launched an investigation following an aggravated burglary in a local housing estate last Friday afternoon.

Two males wearing balaclavas entered a house in College Vale at around 4.30pm and threatened a male occupant with what gardaí described as an “offensive weapon”.

Fearful for his safety, the occupant handed over a quantity of jewellery and a mobile phone, worth around a total of €3,000.

The burglars, who gardaí say were around six feet tall and spoke with Irish accents, exited the house through the back door before leaving the scene in a black car.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, a garda spokesperson said that the detective unit at Mullingar Garda Station are making extensive inquiries.

“We would appeal to people who may have been seen anything unusual in the College Vale area on Friday afternoon to get in touch with the detective unit.”

The incident at College Vale was one of three break-ins reported in the Mullingar area on Friday.

The other burglaries occurred in the Belmont area between 8am and 5pm.

While little of note was taken in either burglary, gardaí report that damage was caused to both properties.