Pensioner held captive by robbers

GARDAÍ have asked people living in rural parts of west Cork to keep a close eye on elderly neighbours after a woman in her mid-70s was held captive for a number of hours in her own home as robbers ransacked it.

The pensioner’s ordeal is believed to have lasted for nearly four hours, after which the robbers escaped with what was described as “a small sum.”

A garda spokesman said the woman, who lives alone, returned to her house at Illanaugh, near Ballingeary, to discover the men had broken in.