Shotgun is stolen amid spate of burglaries

Detectives gave details of five burglaries in all, spanning Larne to the outskirts of Templepatrick, all during Tuesday morning.

The first they cited was the theft of a grey Seat Leon, registration JRZ 3558, stolen during a creeper burglary in the Bay Park area of Larne.

Police believe two males used the car to try and burgle a house in the Ballyearl Road area, a rural region north of Newtownabbey, just before 10am.

Two other burglaries were reported in the Belfast Road area of Ballyclare.

Finally, a burglary was reported in the Ballymartin Road area, to the east of Templepatrick, at 2pm.

A shotgun and cartridges were taken in that incident.

However, police said “at this stage it is unclear if the incident is linked to our earlier burglaries”.

Detective Inspector Christopher Millar said: “We are keen to speak to anyone who knows the whereabouts of this car [the grey Seat] and its occupants, or has any information about the burglaries this morning.”