Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Beware of dog thieves
One of the greatest joys I have found during lockdown is walking my puppy Vera every morning. As soon as I get to my local park, I let her off the lead and she dashes away.
She loves chasing birds and squirrels, and up till now I haven’t panicked when I can’t see her because I know she’s having a little nosy somewhere and she’ll soon come back.
But recently I’ve been feeling anxious about letting her off the lead following news of the frightening increase in dog theft.
My social media followers have also warned me of this horrible crime.
It’s estimated that thefts have risen by a whopping 250% since the start of the pandemic.
The good news is that Home Secretary Priti Patel is working on upgrading pet theft to a more serious offence.
The current sentence for stealing a pet is seven years, but 300,000 people who signed a petition want the law to be tougher.
Meantime, please be vigilant with pets, especially dogs when they are off the lead. I can’t even begin to contemplate the trauma of losing a pet to thieves.
A DAD shot dead just yards from his home may have been killed over a stolen motorbike, according to reports.
Paddy “Pappy” Lyons was blasted up to five times on Thursday night at Belclare Terrace, Ballymun, North Dublin.
Pappy, who was in his 40s, was known to gardai for minor crimes including theft, public order and drug possession.
He was mourning the death of his partner Sandra Maguire who died in the Mater Hospital in Dublin at the end of January.
Sources told The Irish Daily Star that one line of inquiry sees gardai probing whether Pappy was shot because a criminal blamed him for stealing a motorbike.
A source said: “One school of thought is that he was suspected of stealing the wrong motorbike and paid for it with his life.
ORPHAN
“There is nothing to suggest it was gangland.” Mr Lyons was a drug addict and lived on nearby Belclare Drive.
The killing leaves his 10-year-old son an orphan. Video emerged from shocked onlookers showing Mr Lyons’ body lying on the ground covered with a blanket.
A postmortem exam was due to be carried out on Friday.
A Garda spokesperson said: “Investigating gardai are appealing for anyone with information in relation to this incident to come forward and are appealing to anyone who was in the Belclare Terrace and Belclare Park areas between 8pm and 9.15pm on Thursday evening to come forward.”
Tributes were left at the scene of the crime on Friday. A local told the Irish Mirror: “It’s terribly sad. You’d always see him out on the green with his young fella kicking a ball around. Our thoughts are with his poor family.”
’Fat’ Freddie Thompson & Daniel Kinhan at 2016 funeral of David Byrne in Dublin