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Ram raid at Newtown butchers
19.11.09
by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
NEWTOWN butcher Gerard McDaid has been left counting
the cost of crime after his premises on the
village’s Main Street was burgled in an overnight
ram raid.
Thieves made off with a large quantity of cigarettes
and lottery scratch cards, and also stole five
charity collection boxes containing a substantial
sum of money.
The raiders are understood to have used a vehicle to
ram the doors at the entrance to Mr McDaid’s
premises before making off with their ill gotten
gains. The robbery was discovered when Mr McDaid
arrived for work last Thursday morning. |
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“It’s an awful setback
for me,” Mr McDaid said. “It’s hard enough to keep
the business ticking over in a climate like this
without having to deal with a robbery.”
“Not alone did they steal the poor boxes, cigarettes
and lottery tickets, but they also wrecked the till
and it has cost me a pretty penny to replace it.”
“It’s particularly heartless for the thieves to have
stolen these charity boxes,” local Garda sergeant
Michael Galvin said. “That shows the mentality of
the people we’re dealing with – a robbery like this
could put a small trader out of business. But we’re
hopeful that the case can be solved.” |
Mr McDaid has been a
butcher in Newtown for almost nine years and had
recently extended his premises to include a
convenience store. “I will be making an insurance
claim, but those things take time and this has come
as a big blow just as I’m getting ready for the
Christmas rush,” Mr McDaid said.
Gardaí have appealed for anyone who saw anything
suspicious in the village last Wednesday night or
Thursday morning to contact Newtown Garda Station on
07491 56113.
He also warned business owners and householders to
be extra vigilant in the run up to Christmas.
“We appeal to all business people, indeed everyone,
to be extra vigilant at this time of year and report
anything suspicious to the Garda,” Sergeant Galvin
said. “It’s better to err on the side of caution by
reporting something rather than regretting it
afterwards.”
Gerard McDaid re-opened his store immediately after
gardaí had finished their technical examination on
Thursday. “There was nothing else for it but to get
right back into it and we opened as soon as the
guards left,” he said, adding that he will install
barriers to prevent the recurrence of a ram raid. |
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