Three children were held captive at gunpoint in the North while their father was forced to take money from his workplace today.
The children, one aged 15 and the other two aged eight, were put in their bedroom after two assailants, one carrying a handgun, entered their house in Lisburn, Co Down, Northern Ireland, last night.
The father and mother were held in another part of the house during the "tiger kidnap", and at 6.45am today the father was forced to go to his work at a Next shop in Belfast and hand over cash, totalling “less than £50,000”, to the gang.
Next holds one of the best-known post-Christmas sales of household goods and clothes, with many customers filing through its doors at this time of year.
A police spokesman said the family had been freed. “While they were not physically harmed, they were very upset by their ordeal,” he said.
Police are appealing for information on a car which was used in the robbery. The silver Mitsubishi Charisma was taken from the family’s home. A handgun was used during last night’s incident.
A Next spokeswoman said the retailer was co-operating fully with the police investigation.
In the Republic, gardaí are searching for a five-man armed gang who escaped with €1.2 million in cash after a robbery involving hostage-taking just before Christmas.
The five-man gang broke into the home of Peter Nevin, a director of cash-in-transit firm GSLS, just off the Maynooth to Celbridge road in Co Kildare.
Mrs Nevin and her daughter were taken from the house by some of the gang. They were driven to Grangecon near Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, where they were held in a 4X4 vehicle during the night.
Additional reporting PA