Mother feared son would be taken

Nine vehicles were stolen or damaged by the gang

A mother whose car was hijacked by a gang of men in County Armagh has said she feared her three-year-old son would be taken in the ordeal.

Police believe three men who went on a hijacking spree across counties Down, Armagh and Louth had been drinking.

In all nine vehicles were stolen or damaged by the gang on Thursday.

The woman, who does not want to be named, said the thieves' attempt to steal her car was only foiled when a lorry driver blocked the road.

The 30-year-old woman was driving on the main Newtownhamilton to Belleek road at about midday on Thursday when the incident took place.

"He started pulling at me to get me out of the car," she said.

"At that stage, I wrapped my arms around the steering wheel, but he was still pulling at me.

"I shouted for help, there was a backlog of cars, my son was in the back of the car, but no-one came to help me.

Noose

The woman said a man who was further up the road got the lorry driver to block the road and forced the thieves to crash the car into the gully.

After unsuccessfully trying to steal her vehicle, the three men hijacked a pensioner's car and forced him to drive into County Louth with a rope tied around his neck.

The man, who is in his 60s, was left in the car when the thieves reached Dundalk.

Police suspect the same men had earlier stolen a silver Vauxhall Astra from a caravan site at Tollymore Forest Park.

Chief Superintendent Bobby Hunniford said alcohol was found

Chief Superintendent Bobby Hunniford said the hijackers had traumatised the people they had attacked.

"Words just cannot describe the harm these people have caused to people right across the various communities here," he said.

"It was noticed by several of the people involved here that there was a strong smell of alcohol coming from these youths, indeed, in one of the vehicles recovered there was a substantial amount of alcohol found."

'Highwaymen'

Meanwhile, police in the Republic of Ireland are investigating an incident where an 81-year-old woman was injured when she was dragged from her car by a gang of youths in Dundalk, County Louth.

The woman had stopped her car when she saw the gang crash another car they had already hijacked.

She suffered a serious leg injury after being dragged from her car, said Irish state broadcaster RTE.

It said the Garda Air Support Unit had been involved in the search for the gang, which returned across the border before turning away from a PSNI roadblock near Newry, County Down.

They then struck again when they stopped another female driver on the Old Warrenpoint Road, pulled her from her car and assaulted her before driving off again.

This car has since turned up in Dublin.

A criminal gang operating in south Down and County Armagh were rampaging around the area interfering with cars, stealing cars and at one stage kidnapping a gentleman Danny Kennedy UUP

The gang are thought to be aged in their late teens or early 20s and may have southern Irish accents.

Irish police said they believed the incidents on both sides of the border were connected.

Newry and Mourne Sinn Fein councillor Jimmy McCreesh said he visited the homes of some of those caught up in the incidents.

He said he hoped those traumatised in "these savage incidents" make full recoveries.

Ulster Unionist Newry and Mourne assembly member Danny Kennedy said the incident raised concerns and said it was "highwaymen operating in broad daylight".

"A criminal gang operating in south Down and County Armagh were rampaging around the area interfering with cars, stealing cars and at one stage kidnapping a gentleman," he said.

"He had the traumatic experience of having a rope placed around his neck and being brought across the border."