'Thieves are preying on the community' warns SDLP councillor

SDLP member Malachy Quinn said some residents in the Gortgonis and Newtownkelly areas discovered their properties had been broken into and their oil tank drained in the early hours of Monday morning.

Cllr Quinn said: "The people carrying out these disgusting acts are not outsiders coming into the town, they know what houses to target, they know where the tanks are and they know how to get to them.

"One resident had their back gate kicked in, despite having secure locks on it and they had also just had the tank filled with oil. These thieves are preying on the community and if anyone has any information please take it to the police."

He said appealed to everyone in the area to take precautions and keep an eye out for their neighbours, especially if they are elderly.

"We all know how expensive oil is and very few people are able to afford to fill a tank more than one every few months. I have also been in touch with the PSNI to ask them to double their efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour around Coalisland," he added.