Wrecker thieves cause £70K damage to house

A plush home was stripped to a shell by rampaging thieves who caused £70,000 (€100,000) damage, it emerged today.

The owner, a property developer, returned to the vacant house near Derry in Northern Ireland after three weeks away to find it wrecked.

Double glazed windows in the detached home at Steelstown village had been ripped out and stolen, police said.

But the vandals had also wreaked havoc inside, where a cooker was smashed and all the radiators taken out along with the copper piping.

Furniture in the house was trashed and ceilings pulled down. An oil boiler was stolen from the outhouse.

It is understood the owner, who had purchased the house for an investment, estimated the damage at £70,000 (€100,000).

A police spokesman said: “We believe the vandals spent several hours in the house and would have needed a vehicle to take the stolen goods away.”

Detectives have urged anyone who noticed suspicious activity in the area between September 7 and 26 to contact them.