A large box of children’s Christmas gifts were destroyed by four masked men who broke in and vandalised a daycare facility in Caledon over the weekend.
Vicky Robb, owner of Woolstore Daycare on Mill Street, says that while the break-in on Sunday night was devastating, she is “very lucky” because it “definitely could have been a lot worse”.
Four masked men gained entry by breaking the front window of the property before ransacking an office.
“Thankfully, I don’t keep money on the premises,” Vicky told Armagh I.
“After making a bit of a mess they left again and as far as we can tell, so far, they didn’t take anything. I count us being very lucky.
“The worst thing about it all is that I had a huge box of Christmas gifts for the kids that attend my daycare, just under the window, that was destroyed, so I will have to try get them replaced.”
Vicky praised the police for their “fantastic” support and hoped, with the help of CCTV, those responsible will be caught.
It is understood police are linking this incident with a similar attempted theft at a car sales premises in Armagh city.
Said Vicky: “All in all, I can say I was incredibly lucky. I live close by and I sometimes be on the premises at night; thankfully I wasn’t in on Sunday night otherwise the outcome could have been a lot worse.
“I have insurance that’ll cover all including the wee presents; it’s just getting them replaced in time it’s definitely put a bit of pressure on but nothing that can’t be figured out.
“I am lucky to have a positive mindset but it’s just awful for anyone at this time of the year.”
Posting on social media, Vicky said: “Thankfully we have a CCTV system in place, but I know this may not be the case for all homes and businesses, so please be more careful at this time of the year and let’s not let these thugs get what they want.”
Enquiries are continuing and police would appeal to anyone with any information in relation to the incident, to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 221 02/12/24.
Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
