Burglars attack babysitter in Belfast

Burglars battered a babysitter with a crowbar after breaking into a house in north Belfast, police said tonight.

The victim, aged 30, was attacked as he minded his 12-year-old niece.

He was tied up and forced into a bedroom by the gang of three men who got in through the rear of the Antrim Road property early today today.

As the raiders demanded money the girl’s mother and a man, both in their 30s, returned home.

They were forced into the same bedroom, along with the child, and held for up to an hour.

The thieves, also armed with hammers and screwdrivers, ransacked the house, stealing a mobile phone and BMW car before escaping.

Police said the babysitter was left with cuts and bruises to his wrists and ribs, while the other man suffered minor facial injuries.

The woman and her daughter were left badly shocked but unhurt.