Elderly targeted in five attacks

Older people are being urged not to panic after five pensioners were targeted in robberies over the weekend.

In east Belfast, a woman fought off two burglars at her home on Saturday and a pensioner was punched by a man who tried to rob her handbag.

In Lisburn, the home of a pensioner was ransacked by a gang of three men.

Another gang is being blamed for robberies in Dromore and Edenderry. A man, 88, was assaulted by robbers at his Drumnakilly home on the Omagh Road.

Three men entered his house. He was pushed into a chair before the men ransacked his home. It was the third time that the man had been attacked in his home.

May McGillion works with older people in rural communities in Tyrone and Fermanagh.

She said that keeping the door locked was crucial.

"Fix your chain and use it even when you are in the house," she said.

"Don't wait until the caller knocks at the door. Have it on securely all the time.

But she also said that older people should not panic as there are not very many such attacks.