Gardai are urging people living in rural area to purchase house alarms following the latest burglary in the Ballylinan area.
On Friday, two males were disturbed while attempting to steal a caravan in Kilcruise.
The assailants did manage to escape with a number of tools and appliances such as televisions with a value of €500.
This is the latest in a spate of crimes committed in the area in the past week.
A number of homes were broken into and ransacked in Ballylinan and Maganey last week.
During the incidents, three houses were broken into in Killeen, Ballyfoyle and Maganey. All the houses were vacant at the time.
An alarm on the side of one of the houses was broken off by the raiders.
Gardai believe the thefts are most likely linked to earlier robberies in Ballylinan over the previous weekend, during which a shotgun was stolen from one house, along with electrical items and a small amount of cash.
Speaking to LaoisToday, a garda spokesperson urged people living in rural areas to alarm their homes.
The spokesperson said that in some cases, houses had alarms but the home owners had forgotten to alarm me.
They also reminded homeowners to be vigilant and keep their doors and windows locked and to always set an alarm when leaving the house.
Gardai are asking anyone who noticed anything suspicious or unusual in the area to contact them.
Portlaoise Garda Station can be contacted at 057 8674100 and gardai are appealing for anyone with any information to contact them.
READ ALSO – Spate of house burglaries in Ballylinan
