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05/05/2009
'Vermin' Robber Leaves Old Lady Too Afraid To Go Home
A man who terrorised a 79-year-old woman in her Londonderry home - and left her "too frightened" to return home - has been branded as "vermin" by the victim's daughter.
The old lady was robbed of £200 by a man who had a white scarf covering his face, and who knocked Florrie McDermott to the ground, kicked her and stole the money she was keeping to pay a fuel bill.
Mrs McDermott discovered the man, in her kitchen in Harty Court, Ballymagoarty, at about 1.30am Monday morning.
"I just found him standing by the back door and I was so frightened, I was just shaking," Mrs McDermott told BBC Radio Ulster this morning: "I don't want to ever go back their now."
Her daughter Margaret Mc Dermott - who lives nearby - has been caring for her mother.
She said that Mrs McDermott suffered bruising to her back and arm and has had several panic attacks since the assault.
"She just keeps having these panic attacks now and the doctor has given her some tablets.
"I wouldn't go back there so I can only imagine how she feels, it turns my stomach even to go in to get some of her stuff.
"The people that did this to my mother are vermin, that's the only thing I can say about them."
Meanwhile, it has emerged that more than a quarter of those convicted for armed burglaries in Northern Ireland do not end up behind bars.
And more than half of overall burglary convictions generally do not result in prison sentences.
In 2006, three convictions for burglary where grievous bodily harm was inflicted also resulted in no custodial sentence.
A Freedom of Information request for the Belfast News Letter to the Northern Ireland Office revealed that most convictions for burglary escape prison sentences.
In figures published today, from a total of 1,730 burglary convictions over three years, just 977 convictions, or 56.5%, did not result in custodial sentences.
In the period 2004 to 2006 it was also revealed that over a quarter of aggravated or armed burglary convictions did not result in prison. Thirteen such convictions over the three years resulted in non-custodial sentences.
And although most cases of burglary with grievous bodily harm over the three years resulted in custodial sentences, in 2006 three such convictions were deemed not to justify imprisonment.
(BMcC)
The old lady was robbed of £200 by a man who had a white scarf covering his face, and who knocked Florrie McDermott to the ground, kicked her and stole the money she was keeping to pay a fuel bill.
Mrs McDermott discovered the man, in her kitchen in Harty Court, Ballymagoarty, at about 1.30am Monday morning.
"I just found him standing by the back door and I was so frightened, I was just shaking," Mrs McDermott told BBC Radio Ulster this morning: "I don't want to ever go back their now."
Her daughter Margaret Mc Dermott - who lives nearby - has been caring for her mother.
She said that Mrs McDermott suffered bruising to her back and arm and has had several panic attacks since the assault.
"She just keeps having these panic attacks now and the doctor has given her some tablets.
"I wouldn't go back there so I can only imagine how she feels, it turns my stomach even to go in to get some of her stuff.
"The people that did this to my mother are vermin, that's the only thing I can say about them."
Meanwhile, it has emerged that more than a quarter of those convicted for armed burglaries in Northern Ireland do not end up behind bars.
And more than half of overall burglary convictions generally do not result in prison sentences.
In 2006, three convictions for burglary where grievous bodily harm was inflicted also resulted in no custodial sentence.
A Freedom of Information request for the Belfast News Letter to the Northern Ireland Office revealed that most convictions for burglary escape prison sentences.
In figures published today, from a total of 1,730 burglary convictions over three years, just 977 convictions, or 56.5%, did not result in custodial sentences.
In the period 2004 to 2006 it was also revealed that over a quarter of aggravated or armed burglary convictions did not result in prison. Thirteen such convictions over the three years resulted in non-custodial sentences.
And although most cases of burglary with grievous bodily harm over the three years resulted in custodial sentences, in 2006 three such convictions were deemed not to justify imprisonment.
(BMcC)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A showery start with outbreaks most frequent north of Lough Neagh and through the morning, before dwindling during the afternoon as the northwest breezes ease and brighter spells of weak sunshine prosper. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A dry night, save for a few light showers around the coasts, with prolonged clear spells and light winds bringing a frosty dawn for many in central and southern parts. Minimum temperature -3 °C.
