Woman in her eighties 'tricked' and robbed

Gardaí at Mullingar are investigating a robbery of an elderly woman living in Mullingar, after she was "tricked" into letting a stranger into her home.On Thursday, April 15 at half past one in the day, an eighty-seven year old woman answered the door to a man, who claimed he had done work on a house next door.He told the woman he wanted to leave change for the occupants of the neighbouring house and asked her for a piece of paper to write on.He then followed her into the house and a short time later she discovered that an undisclosed sum of money had been taken and the bedrooms ransacked.Gardaí believe there may have been a second male involved in the incident, and that they used a car to make their getaway.They are now appealing to anyone who lives alone not be taken in by stories given by strangers, to always check for identification, and not to leave the door unattended or unlocked.In a separate incident, Gardaí at Kinnegad are investigating a burglary which took place at the Hawthorns on Friday, April 16 between midnight and eight o'clock in the morning.Intruders entered a private residence through a rear door which was left unlocked.They took a small amount of cash from a purse and stole a silver '09 Opel Insignia which was parked outside the house. Also in the early hours of Friday morning, a couple awoke to hear a down stairs window of their house in Valley Cottages in Patrick Street, Mullingar, being broken.They saw a male, who used a brick to smash the glass, running from the house.One person was arrested for public order and criminal damage after they threw a brick at a Garda patrol car, and broke a window of a business premises in Kinnegad.A 15 horsepower Yamaha outboard motor, valued at €1500, was stolen from a shed in Tudenham some time between April 13 and 14 last week.