This article is from page 10 of the 2008-10-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
GARDAI in north Clare are follow- ing a definite line of enquiry, after an elderly man was targeted three times by conmen. The man, who lives alone in the Turlough area, was visited by men pretending they were workmen, over the past few weeks.
On one occasion, the callers claimed they were television repair men and they fraudulently obtained more than a €1,000 from the man. On the second occasion they claimed they would clean the eaveshoots on
his house, but he did not part with any money on that occasion.
On the third visit, a week ago, the callers claimed they were carrying out work on tarmacadam. However, the owner of the house was not at home at the time and his sister re- fused entry to the men. She made a note of the car registration and im- mediately contacted gardai.
Gardai believe all of the men were part of the same gang. “We are fol- lowing a definite line of enquiry,” said a garda source. Locals are con- cerned about this, given that it is not
an isolated incident.
Another man has also been robbed of thousands of euro, while several homes in north Clare have been bro- ken into over the summer.
Gardai have pledged to put re- sources in place to stall the activities of travelling criminals, while the lo- cal Turlough/Belharbour/Newquay community alert programme has raised its profile.
Secretary of the group, Margaret Healy said locals are very concerned about the latest visit on the same vic- mbeee
“Locally, everybody is disgusted and frightened, more than ever be- fore. It is important for people not to let strange people into your house,” she said.
She is encouraging residents in the Turlough, Belharbour and Newquay areas to liaise with the community alert programme and report any suspicious activity to gardai or to a member of the scheme.
Meanwhile, Ennis town and sub- urbs has been hit by a spate of day- time burglaries over the past week. Several houses have been broken into
and valuables, including jewellery and plasma televisions, taken.
Ennis Superintendent John Scan- lan is advising people to take care of their premises.
‘People need to be more careful locking up their houses. We are ask- ing people to ensure their windows and doors are locked, when they are leaving their homes,” he said.
“We are concerned about the level of domestic burglaries during the daytime. We are asking people to be vigilant and take an inventory of their valuables,’ he added.