27 October 2009

Granddaughter Sees Off Intruder

A brave young Belfast woman has told how she fought off an intruder who had threatened to rape her and her 88-year-old grandmother in their own home.

Ciara Mullan, 24, described how she struggled with the man who exposed himself after he got into their bungalow at about 3am this morning, (Monday).

It happened at Butler Place in the Ardoyne area after 88-year-old Jane Kane answered a knock at the door.

Ciara said after she managed to force him out of the house after the man exposed himself before running off.

"It's unbearable to think what he wanted to do," she told the BBC today.

Her grandmother, Jane Kane, said: "It was terrible - I've never known anything like that in my life."

She was speaking after Ciara was woken from her bed by noises and came out of her bedroom to see a young man with her grandmother refusing to leave.

"He was saying he had nowhere to go as his parents had thrown him out. He was clearly intoxicated and was getting angry with us," she said.

"I had to shove him into the hallway, where, fortunately for me, he tripped over because he'd had so much to drink.

"I was able to get him out into the garden where we had a struggle, then he ran off."

Police are now hunting the intruder, who is believed to be 26-28 years old, 5ft 8in tall, very thin, clean shaven with freckles and short or shaven dirty fair or ginger hair.

He was wearing a white and navy short-sleeved check shirt, denim jeans and brown boots. He spoke with a Belfast accent.

(BMcC/KMcA)