GARDAÍ HAVE ARRESTED a man after a house and six cars were broken into in one night in Cork at the start of this year.

Gardaí received reports on 2 January that a house in Fermoy and three cars in the same estate had been broken into.

A resident discovered that morning around 6am that a TV and other household items were stolen from the house in Duntahane Park.

Three cars in the same estate, and a further three cars in Carrigaline, were also broken into.

Cash, sunglasses, headphones, bank cards and jewellery were stolen from the car.

A bank card stolen from a car was later used at a petrol station in Cork city.

In Carrigaline, in addition to the three cars broken into, attempts were made to gain entry into three properties.

Fermoy gardaí searched a house in Waterford on 19 January and recovered a TV believed to be the one stolen from the house in Cork.

A man in his 20s was arrested in Cork city yesterday and brought to Fermoy Garda Station.

He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

He has been charged in relation to 11 incidents – the burglary in Fermoy, thefts from three vehicles in Fermoy and three vehicles in Carrigaline, three attempted break-ins in Carrigaline and fraud from using the stolen bank card.

The man is due to appear at Fermoy District Court on 5 February.

Crime Prevention Officer for the Cork North Division Sergeant John Kelly said that “wherever you park your car, we would always advise you to take your property with you and ensure the vehicle is locked and alarmed”.

“I know it’s the last thing you want to do after a hard day’s work and sometimes it is impractical to remove tools and equipment into the house, but we must try make it difficult for criminals who see our vehicles as easy targets,” Kelly said.