Disabled pensioners robbed at home

The victim's belongings strewn across the floor

A south Belfast woman has become the second disabled pensioner to be robbed in her home in Northern Ireland in 48 hours.

The woman, who is in her 70s, returned home shortly after 2000 BST on Wednesday to find two men in the living room of her home in Lucerne Parade in the Stranmillis area.

The men told her they were police officers looking into robberies in the area.

The victim, who suffers from breathing difficulties, told them she felt unwell and asked them to get her a doctor but they refused.

He said nothing would happen to me if I did what he said

Jean Spallen

"He grabbed me by each arm and propelled me across into the seat," she said.

"He said nothing would happen to me if I did what he said."

The pensioner said she broke down after the man refused to call her doctor.

"I really did feel terrible."

One of the men held her in the living room while the other ransacked the house.

They left with a sum of money and other items.

Jean Spallen: "He grabbed me by each arm"

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Lisburn Jim Dillon said the person who robbed an elderly couple in County Down was "evil."

Mr Dillon said he was appalled by the robbery.

The elderly man, who is believed to be in his 90s and is severely disabled, answered the front door of his home on the Dromore Road in Hillsborough to a man at about 1100 BST on Tuesday.

The caller, who was in his 40s, claimed to owe a relative of the man a sum of money.

The man entered the house, claiming he needed change, and once in, took a sum of money from the man.

Caution

The suspect escaped in a red Ford Sierra car seen earlier on Wednesday in the driveway of the victim's home.

The elderly victim and his bedridden wife, who is also in her 90s, were uninjured in the incident, but they both suffered shock.

The police have urged householders to be cautious when opening the door to people they don't know or people who fail to identify themselves properly.

If anyone is uncertain about callers to their home, they should contact the police immediately on the emergency 999 number.

Meanwhile, two teenage sisters have been tied up by robbers who ransacked their home in north Belfast on Thursday afternoon.

It is not thought the girls - aged 14 and 18 - were injured during the robbery on the Crumlin Road.

The two men, one armed with a ratchet, stole money and electrical goods.