'Foreign gang' threaten woman in her bed

A foreign gang could be behind armed robberies in Co Armagh, it was revealed today after a 56-year-old woman was targeted in her home.

The woman was alone and in bed in her house in Tandragee when up to five men smashed their way into the house in Clare Road.

The woman was confronted by the men, all wearing balaclavas and dark coats, who threatened her with a gun as she lay in bed and demanded money.

The woman told police the men spoke in a foreign-sounding language.

The gang ordered the woman into the kitchen of the house while they spent 15 minutes ransacking the property before making off in a car or other vehicle.

The Police Service said they were investigating whether the robbery was linked to another in Tandragee last week when 78-year-old Democratic Unionist Party councillor Heather Black was robbed by a gang of men who burst into her home.

Police appealing for information about the latest robbery said the 56-year-old had been left seriously shocked and traumatised by her ordeal.