Ardglass shops hit in Easter burglary wave

Ardglass shops hit in Easter burglary wave

11 April 2012 - by BY JOANNE FLEMING

A BURGLARY spree over the Easter weekend has left businesses and households in Ardglass and Tyrella picking up the pieces.

Thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused at a newly opened fish and chip shop and a hairdressers in Ardglass in the early hours of Sunday morning. A third attempted burglary was carried out at a residential property in the village, with anti-social behaviour also reported around the Marina area.

Later on Easter Sunday morning a house on Ballydonnell Road, in Tyrella, was also broken in to. A member of the family returning home is understood to have interrupted the armed burglar and detained him until police arrived.

A 16 year-old youth was charged at Newtownards Magistrate’s Court on Monday in relation to this incident. The charges include aggravated burglary, threats to commit criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon.

Two youths aged 17 and 14 also appeared at Newtownards Magistrate’s Court on Monday charged with two counts of burglary and one attempted burglary in relation the Ardglass burglaries. They cannot be named due to their age but are understood to live locally.

Police have said they are not linking the Ardglass and Tyrella incidents at this stage.

Morgan Morrison, of Docs takeaway in Ardglass, said he was left with a repair bill of up to £3,000.

“They smashed the window, broke in, smashed the till and threw syrup from the coffee machine around the place,” he said.

“It is very disheartening whenever you consider we only opened seven or eight weeks ago.

“We obviously would have wanted to open on Easter Monday and we have lost that trade on what would have been a busy day. The community support, however, has been very good. People are very frustrated about it all.”

Roisin Denver, of The Village Salon in Bath Street, Ardglass, spoke of the devastating impact on her business as she began the cleanup process yesterday morning.

“They smashed the till and stole a charity box raising money for children in Africa, which had about £40 in it,” she said. “I need new glass for the window and a new till. It will cost the guts of £1,000 and there is also the inconvenience of it all.

“A couple of months ago there was a similar incident and over 25 years it has been happening on a regular basis.”

Ms. Denver said she believed better lighting in the village and more frequent police patrols would help prevent local businesses being targeted.

Local councillor, Dermot Curran, also condemned those responsible for the weekend spate of crimes.

“This is not the image we want to portray of Ardglass,” he said. “This is a beautiful place to live and visit. The people of Ardglass need to stand up for the village. The people responsible for these burglaries are doing nothing for us.”