Last  Sunday afternoon Castle Archdale was the setting for what has been labelled an “opportunist crime”. 

 

Some time before 1.30pm a vehicle parked in the Castle Archdale Rossmore carpark was broken into and a mobile phone stolen.

 

In an appeal to this paper the victims of the crime, who had been visiting the county for the weekend, urged others to be vigilant in the run up to Christmas to prevent any further instances of theft.

 

After a three hour scenic walk around Castle Archdale the owner of the vehicle returned at 2.30pm to discovered the front passenger window smashed and a mobile phone stolen from inside the car. A passer-by alerted police at around 1.30pm after the vehicle had been broken into.

 

The victims, who were not local, claimed that a suspicious black four by four vehicle with young men ‘playing very loud music’ was spotted in and out of different carparks in the area.

 

In highlighting their story the woman said: 

 

“I thought this information might help others to be vigilant in the Christmas run up as I wouldn’t want to see others suffer the distress as we did.”

 

PSNI inspector Roy Robinson confirmed the theft and noted these instances were becoming all too common in the county.

 

“These carpark ones with phones being stolen, hand bags being stolen are more common, it’s just opportunist crime. They see the item on display, they see a tag or something and it’s done in a few seconds and away.”

 

When asked why this area, which has also been targeted in the past, was a popular haunt for thieves, Mr Robinson suggested it was the rural location.