Gardaí investigate 'tiger kidnapping' in Laois

Gardaí are investigating a kidnapping and an armed robbery in Co Laois.

At around 11pm last night, four masked men armed with crowbars forced their way into a house at Cullow Hill near Rathdowney.

They took a woman in her 50s from the house and to the nearby filling station where she worked.

They forced her to hand over a significant amount of cash and cigarettes, before bringing her back to the house and locking her in a room.

They gang are believed to have fled the scene in a black Audi in the direction of Abbeyleix.

The woman managed to set herself free and contact the gardaí. She s unhurt but said to be severely traumatised by the incident.