Man (75) roughed up and locked in room during Cork burglary

Gardaí in Cork have appealed for assistance in tracking down a couple who broke into a 75-year-old man’s home, roughed him up and locked him in a room before stealing cash and valuables.

The incident happened at on Bull's Lane, a cul-de sac near Ashton Comprehensive School on the Blackrock Road on Cork's southside, between 8pm on Friday and 6.30am on Saturday.

The couple forced their way through the back door and woke the man before taking him from his bed in an upstairs room and demanding cash. When the man challenged the couple, they hit him on his head and body.

The man, who lives alone, suffered cuts and bruises to his face and arms during the burglary and ended up locked in his room. The burglars made off with a small amount of cash, a mobile phone, a watch and his bank card.

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The man remained locked in his room until around lunchtime on Saturday when his sister heard him shouting for help while delivering him lunch. She alerted gardaí who helped to free the man before he was treated for his injuries.

The scene was cordoned off to allow Garda technical experts to carry out a forensic examination of the scene. Gardaí made door to door inquiries in the area to see if anyone noticed any suspicious activity around the time of the break-in.

Gardaí are also begun examining CCTV footage from the Blackrock Road, Old Blackrock Road, Victoria Road and Victoria Avenue areas in the hope of finding footage which could help them identify the culprits.

Any motorists who were in the area between 8pm on Friday and 6.30am on Saturday who may have relevant dash cam footage are asked to contact Blackrock Garda station on (021) 4536690.