Eight houses burgled in one day

A “ransacked” home is one of eight that were burgled on Saturday, and gardaí have said this week there were in fact 11 burglaries reported to them over just five days.

A garda spokesperson said they are not yet concerned it is a trend: “For the last few weeks, we have had no burglaries. You do get peaks and troughs,” he said.

The woman who described her house as ransacked had been away on Saturday, and when she returned at 7pm, she realised there had been intruders, though her house is in full view of a main road.

“They pulled everything out of cupboards and drawers,” she said, adding that they had prised open a window to enter. As far as she can tell, they did not steal anything: she believes they were looking for cash, which she doesn’t keep in the house. They ignored valuable items such as a games console.

Gardaí said the burglaries on Saturday were at two houses in Mullingar; two in Clonkill; one in Clonmellon; one in Knockdrin; one in Portnashangan and one in Multyfarnham; and also in Mullingar on August 24; in Rathowen on August 25 and at Lynn Cross on August 27.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in at least one burglary.

The garda spokesperson said that in light of the burglaries, it was timely to remind people to ensure their houses are made secure if there is nobody home.