WE'LL COME BACK FOR YOUR CHILDREN

The couple, who had just moved into the Brookfield Meadows estate in Banbridge four weeks ago, were terrified when their children ran into the house to tell them they saw three strange men outside wearing gloves and looking suspicious.

When the children's father went outside to check out what was happening in the new development at around 8pm last Tuesday July 27, he was met by a "big man holding a metal bar".

The man, said to be aged in his forties, then grabbed a set of bolt-cutters from the ground and shook them at the father-of-two as he threatened him.

"He was shouting 'Don't look at my face! If you call the police in the next hour I'll get your kids!'," the man told the Leader.

It is thought at least three men - two others aged in their 20s - had come to the estate, in which most of the social housing remains unoccupied, and removed boilers from eight empty houses.

Around 16,000 worth of damage is thought to have been caused to the houses after the burglars broke windows, and damaged the back doors to get at boilers which they then ripped from the walls, leaving pipes broken and exposed.

The children's mother said she is "worried sick" since the incident and had to send the children to their grandmother's house that night for their safety and her peace of mind.

The act of vandalism and burglary was described as "brazen" by the children's father.

"They did what they did in broad daylight," he said. "We are the only house occupied in this part of the estate and they obviously thought even we weren't here so they could come in here brazen as you like and take the boilers."

Further concern was expressed at the fact it took police an hour to get to the scene after they were called by the children's frightened mother.

"I was screaming down the phone about what he said about the kids," she said. "But the police went to the wrong address and by the time they got here the men were long gone."

information

Police, who arrived at the scene at 9.44pm, said they worked on the information they had been given by the caller.

"Enquiries established that the suspicious activity had initially been observed between 7pm and 7.30pm but was not reported to police until 8.45pm," said a spokesman.

"The address given was also inaccurate and did not correspond to the actual location of the incident."

The eight boilers, which had been left in the back gardens of the houses, were recovered by police after the men scattered.

Banbridge PSNI has appealed for information on 0845 600 8000 or anonymously on Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.