Two men have been arrested in connection with a series of recent aggravated burglaries at homes in St John’s Park and Cherrymount and at the Carry Out in Kilcohan and an armed robbery outside the Bank of Ireland in Lisduggan.

A 25-year-old local man was initially arrested in connection with the alleged incidents last Thursday. He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and has since been released, pending a file to the DPP.

A second male, aged 23 and also from Waterford, was arrested at 10.25am on Monday in connection with the incidents. He was released without charge on Tuesday and a file is to be prepared and submitted to the DPP for direction.

Meanwhile another aggravated burglary took place in the city over the weekend, this time at a house in The Folly shortly after 8pm on Sunday. A lady answered a knock on her front door and was confronted by a youth in possession of a knife, who grabbed her arm and pushed his way into the house. The injured party called out for her husband and the man pushed the culprit out the door. Another youth was observed outside the house. Both youths fled.

In other crime news, householders are warned to be vigilant over the festive season as the frequency of home burglaries continues to rise across city estates.

The resident of a house at Shorewood, Ballinakill Downs returned home on Sunday evening to discover the property had been ransacked and some cash and a laptop taken.

A house at Spruce Terrace, Lisduggan was broken into overnight last Friday. The homeowner discovered that both a window in the front door and a rear window were broken. Two TVs were moved to the rear window, though nothing appears to be missing.

A resident at Priory Lawn, Ballybeg returned home shortly before 6pm on Friday to discover their house had been ransacked and some cash, a stereo and a VCR taken.

A staff member at O’Neill’s Sweet Shop on Lombard Street was threatened with a dirty syringe during an armed robbery last Thursday evening. A man in his late 20s or early 30s entered the shop shortly after 6.30pm and demanded money. The culprit was wearing a white baseball hat and a green short jacket.

A petrol bomb was thrown at a house in Ballybeg Park shortly after midnight last Friday night. The device rebounded off the front door and exploded in the front yard, causing minor damage. Nobody was injured in the incident.

A car parked outside a house in St Herblain Park was set alight at around 1.15am on Saturday. The injured party reported that a vehicle may have pulled up outside her house around the time of the incident.

The back passenger window of a car parked at Viewmount was smashed in the early hours of Monday morning and a blue and grey Makita Consaw taken and a cordless drill was taken from a car parked at Pearse Park over night on Friday night.