String of break-ins in Rugby Avenue area of Holylands

Sinister intruders robbed three female students of money, laptops and alcohol – while they were IN the house.

10 years ago

burglary crime exclusive Holylands rugby avenue

There have been THREE break-ins on Rugby Avenue in the Holylands in just TWO weeks.

The latest attack happened on Monday night at around 8.45 and sinisterly, the intruders robbed the three female students, who wish to remain anonymous, whilst they were actually in the house.

Jane* told us “We live in the upstairs flat of a house that is converted into two flats. The intruder forced our communal door open and then forced open the locked front door to our flat”

The girls living in the Rugby Avenue flat first became aware of an intruder when the man walked into one of their bedrooms and greeted her “Alright” before casually walking back out. They were understandably completely terrified. Jane* went on to say,

“Our possessions were scattered in the hallway and I found my room completely trashed. They pulled out all my cupboards and threw all my clothes, uni work and books all over the floor. They also stripped my bed to see if there was anything under.”

One of the rooms in the house

“They took my laptop, a broken laptop I kept under the bed and my purse containing my debit cards and full driving license. They also stole my housemate’s purse and even lifted alcohol from our fridge.”

The girls reacted quickly to the intrusion, cancelling their debit cards and contacting the PSNI, who arrived within an hour to take statements. However, Jane* told The Tab she felt disappointed in the response of both the police and their housing agency, who both could have done more to help them.

Various valuables were stolen, including purses

“We felt the issue wasn’t being taken as seriously as it could have been. These people had broken into our house so easily so therefore we were in an un-secure property and this didn’t seem to alarm them.”

“We were also disappointed to discover our housing agency had no emergency contact number, and our contract had no contact details for our landlord. We realised we would be spending the night in an un-secure place and so I shared a room with one house-mate, while another stayed with a friend as she didn’t feel safe”

Although the items taken were valuable, Jane* tells us what’s most upsetting is “realising there were strangers in my room going through my things” and were very disturbed by the fact that “they didn’t have a problem breaking into someone’s home at 9 o’clock in the evening knowing there were people in the house.”

She also said she doesn’t hold out much hope for getting her things back, and told us the advice of the PSNI was “basically to keep checking Gumtree.”

The Tab contacted PSNI for a comment on the recent crime wave in the Holylands. They confirmed the burglary on Monday 24th was the third in just two weeks in one street

Another burglary in Rugby Avenue took place on Thursday 20 March at 11.50pm, along with a laptop stolen from the Rugby Avenue area on St. Patrick’s Day.

Police currently believe there is no link between the three burglaries, but told us that the suspect in the most recent break in is described as “a man aged in his mid 20’s, with short dark hair and was wearing a dark hooded tracksuit top”.

They also gave us some advice to encourage students to protect their property. In a statement the PSNI said –

“A large proportion of all burglaries occur through unlocked doors or windows. If your doors aren’t secure, neither is your house. Keep your doors and windows locked whether you are at home or not and establish a routine which involves checking doors and windows to make sure they are locked before you leave the house.”

They also advised “Never leave keys in the lock, on tabletops or hooks in view of external windows. Never hide spare keys under doormats or flower pots – thieves aren’t stupid – hidden keys make life easy for the burglar.”

“With some students returning to their parental home on regular occasions, you are advised to make sure you take high value items such as laptops etc. with you and that items such as games consoles are stored securely and not left out on display or visible to passers-by.”

News of the burglaries come on the heels of The Tab‘s exclusive news of a sexual assault in the Holylands area in the early hours of the morning following St. Patrick’s Day.

If you know anything more you can contact Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 or email any comments to [email protected]