Several local schools in County Longford and its surrounds were targeted by a gang of thieves last Sunday night, February 22. St Joseph’s National School on the Dublin Road was burgled at around 10pm. The perpetrators entered the building by forcing open a rear side door and they proceeded to break through several internal doors in the school causing extensive damage to the premises.

The raiders fled the scene with a safe containing a substantial amount of cash. The Longford Gardai are appealing for witnesses to the incident to contact them asap on 043 46741.

A spokesperson from the gardai told the Leader, “A white van was seen parked outside the school at around 10pm on Sunday and we think it may have been involved in the incident. Also the perpetrators broke into the school opposite Lidl so we are asking witnesses who were in that area on Sunday night to contact us if they saw anything suspicious.”

Schools in the Lanesboro area were also targeted on Sunday night last. At around 9pm three raiders entered Clontuskert National School without permission. The gang criminally damaged several external and internal doors by forcing them open. They also stole petty cash valued between p300 and p400 from the school’s office. The raiders were captured on CCTV footage and the gardai are currently examining it.

Ballyleague National School was also burgled on Sunday night. The perpetrators smashed several windows, forced open a number of doors and rummaged through any locked filing cabinets on the premises. A spokesperson from the school told the Leader, “We have a policy of not keeping any cash in the school so the robbers left with nothing. However they did damage a lot of property beyond repair and it will be very costly to the school to replace.”

A school in the Castlerea area and a school in Boyle were also robbed on Sunday night last and burglars attempted to enter St Matthew’s National School in Ballymahon on Friday evening last.

The perpetrators forced open one of the school’s doors but fled the scene after an alarm was triggered. Nothing was stolen in this instance but the gardai believe that all the incidents may have been related. Anyone with information on the raids is asked to contact the Longford Gardai Station.