A BURGLARY gang attempted to ram a patrol car containing armed gardai off the road as the officers responded to the crew targeting a second house in the same housing estate.

Sources say that it was a "miracle" that the gardai were not injured in the incident which involved the deployment of the Garda helicopter.

The incident happened in the early hours of Tuesday after the three-man mob broke into a house in the Silverlawns estate in Navan, Co Meath.

In the course of the first burglary, the criminals broke into an unoccupied house and stole more than €6,000 worth of electrical items and other goods including flat-screen TVs and games consoles.

ATTEMPTED

The gang then attempted to break into another house in the same estate and one criminal was attempting to force open the front door of this property when gardai came upon the scene. As he was doing this, two other gang members in a stolen Saab tried to flee from the patrol car.

Sources say that the patrol car attempted to block the stolen vehicle in a cul-de-sac in the estate but the Saab drove wildly at the unmarked car before fleeing the scene at speed.

A pursuit then began with the raiders ditching their vehicle at an estate close to the Wind Road in Navan before getting into another car and escaping. No arrests have been made but gardai are working on the theory that the suspects are members of a notorious Traveller gang.

PLAGUED

Sources say that Navan has been plagued by burglaries in the past month with almost 30 recorded in the Co Meath town since the end of November.

A senior source said: "The town's location close to Dundalk and the border as well as Dublin has meant that Traveller gangs have been targeting it in a big way in recent weeks. Its location means that it has been easy to get in and out of for these thugs."

Meanwhile, in a separate investigation in the town, gardai had major success after they arrested a notorious thug who has been targeting women and stealing iphones from them.

The man, who is is already on High Court bail after being charged with a spate of burglary and theft offences, in Dublin has been "causing mayhem".

kfoy@herald.ie