Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Terrorised out of funeral savings by masked men
‘UVF gang’ raid home of 89yr-old man and his family
CALLOUS burglars who targeted the home of a pensioner and his family stole thousands they had saved to pay for funerals.
William Irvine lives with his adult children, one of whom is disabled, at Dunraven Avenue in East Belfast.
The shaken 89-year-old told the Mirror: “It’s disgusting. They target us who were not able to fight back.
“I’d like to see the hoods get caught. They’re preying on the elderly.”
On Tuesday at around 8.30pm four masked men claiming to be from the UVF entered the house through the back door.
His children, including 59-year-old Barbara, were in the house at the time and they were all forced into one room.
Mr Irvine said: “They said they were UVF and they were looking for drugs.
“It was an excuse for a raid. They were all covered.
“They stole a lot of dough, a few thousand. It was money saved up for funerals... that was the only reason for having it.”
The PSNI, who believe all the gang members were aged in their 20s, have appealed for information on the incident.