A MAN who was filmed taking two bales of briquettes from outside a local shop before driving off without paying for them has been tracked down by the Garda, the Herald understands. 

On Monday, Rooney’s Centra in Belleek shared CCTV stills from  the incident on Sunday evening on social media. The footage included a relatively clear shot of the man’s face, and of the registration number of the car he got into. 

“Another hateful attack on a local business,” the shop posted on its Facebook page. 

“We need to put a stop to this. Please report this car or this person to police if you see them around. We feel they could help police with their enquiries. Stay vigilant folks.”

The post was shared hundreds of times on Facebook 

This same car then returned the next day and the store once again promptly shared a still from its cameras, this time showing a woman at the car. 

Speaking to the Herald on Monday, Aisling McGullion from Rooney’s said the car had returned twice since the previous evening. 

“The Guards have intercepted them across the border,” she said. “We put it on Facebook to put it out there and let them know their faces. They have been about the town the last few days here, locally. It’s not right on the businesses.” 

Ms McGullion thanked the shop’s customers and social media users for their help in keeping an eye out, and praised the power of social media. 

Meanwhile, in incidents not related to the above, police have issued yet another appeal for locals to lock their cars and not leave valuables in unattended cars. The warning comes after five unlocked vehicles had hundreds of pounds worth of items stolen in the Irvinestown, Lack and Omagh areas at the weekend.