Police are today hunting for robbers carried out four separate raids in Co Antrim overnight.
Four men broke into the home of a woman (74) in Tansy Road, Ballinderry, last night, ransacked it and seized a number of items of jewellery. The victim suffered bruising to her wrists and was left extremely shocked, a PSNI spokeswoman said.
She added that the men who accosted the pensioner may have been from the Rebublic.
A short time later, a gang of four forced their way into the home of a 91-year-old woman in the Glenavy Road area of Crumlin. The men demanded cash from the victim, taking a sum of money and jewellery before fleeing.
Detectives are investigating a possible link between the two robberies.
A third attack happened in Glengormley, where four youths stole money a man (81) had been saving for Christmas.
The thieves searched through the pensioner's Antrim Road property before escaping, leaving the homeowner badly shaken but unhurt.
Two masked men, one carrying a gun, used a sledgehammer to break into the home of a 68-year-old man on the Belfast Road, Crumlin, last night. He struggled with one of the intruders, but was forced to open his safe and cash was stolen. He was then bundled into the back of his car, driven off and abandoned two miles away where his attackers escaped in another vehicle.