Pensioner '˜terrified' after youths target house

They then proceeded to hurl abuse at her when she went out to challenge them.

The pensioner was dozing in a chair when her house on the Drumcree Road in Portadown was targeted around 8pm.

Her son said his mother, who is normally very independent, phoned him in tears and that he stayed with her until 11pm, with his sisters remaining after he had left.

He said, “It was the shock of it. She is a strong countrywoman. She has lived there all her life and nothing like this has ever happened.

“There was a group of 10 or 12 of them aged about 14 or 15. They must have been out fogging orchards and afterwards they headed back down towards Ballyoran.”

The incident has been condemned by Sinn Fein councillor Paul Duffy who described it as “unacceptable”.

He said, “The woman has lived out there through all the Drumcree sieges and was never afraid in her own home.

“This is antisocial behaviour which has left a pensioner in a terrible state. I would encourage young ones to think about what they are doing.”