Wednesday, May 18, 2016

A 90-YEAR-OLD man is recovering from a frightening ordeal after his house in Taghmon was entered by four masked men who subsequently stole a small sum of cash and caused damage to electrical equipment.

Pensioner Aubery T. Fuller told this newspaper that he had been expecting a neighbour to visit on Wednesday night so when there was a knock on the door at around 10 p.m. he opened it, presuming he would be met by his neighbour rather than four men who barged into the house.

“They were all covered up. They pushed into the house, shut the door behind them and said ‘where’s the cash?’ I never keep cash in the house, they got €50 out of a bag and that was it.”

Mr. Fuller said that one of the men grabbed the lapels of his jacket and brought him through the downstairs rooms of the house but they could find nothing else to take. He said they were in the house for about half an hour before leaving, locking the door behind them so the 90-year-old was trapped inside.

“I couldn’t get out of the house because the door was locked but I was lucky that I have a panic button so I pressed it. When the responders came up I told them I was alright but they should call the guards.”

Mr. Fuller has been living in Taghmon for over 10 years having moved over from the UK where he had worked as a vet. He celebrated his 90^th birthday just the weekend before this incident occurred.

Mr. Fuller said he did not suffer any injuries as the thieves did not strike him. The house was inspected by Crime Scene officers.

“It was a bit frightening but what could I do? People think I should have been more scared. I had nothing to defend myself with but if I had, I’d probably have given it a go.”

Four men believed to have been involved in the burglary were subsequently arrested, just a few hours after Mr. Fuller’s ordeal. The men, aged from the 20s to 40s, were arrested by armed members of the Regional Support Unit when they swooped on a house in Brownswood.

[Full story in this week’s Echo]