Residents call for action to Colonel’s Woods anti-social behaviour

FLASHBACK Westport councillor Christy Hyland highlighted the issue of a drinking den in Colonel’s Wood in The Mayo News as far back as 2011 when this picture was taken.

Anton McNulty

AN eighty-six-year-old grandmother living close to Colonel’s Wood in Westport says she is a prisoner in her home because of increased levels of anti-social activity in the woods.
Last Tuesday night the fire brigade had to extinguish two fires in Colonel’s Woods in Knockranny which were started by a large number of youths who had gathered in the woods after school.
Residents living close to the woods had to call gardaí a number of times during the evening to report anti-social behaviour in the wood, which has been described as ‘a drinking den’.
One of the residents told the The Mayo News that after gardaí arrived at the scene, between 30 to 40 young people ran through their property to escape. The 86-year-old explained that anti-social behaviour is a regular occurrence in the wood and she, along with her neighbours, feel like prisoners in their own home at night.
“It started just after school when some of our educated boys and girls gathered in the woods and you could hear them clearly. After nine o’clock the shrills were getting louder and it was scary and weird altogether. I called the gardaí and they said they would be up when they could,” she explained.
“My garden backs onto the wood and at around 10.30pm I went into the garden when they came from all directions - both boys and girls, into my garden. They were escaping from the gardaí and I was in complete shock. I’d say there was about 40 of them and they seemed to know where they were going. I was shouting at them to get off my property. It was terrible.
“This [anti-social behaviour] is a common occurrence especially in the summer time. I am afraid to go out at night time and am a prisoner in my own home. You can hear them shouting in the woods and you have to lock all your windows and doors and stay in at night. You wouldn’t dare go out at night,” she said.
The fire brigade were called out to put out fires and stayed on location all night. Another resident described the language on the night as ‘extremely abusive’ and feels the consequences of allowing this type of behaviour to continue will ‘inevitably result in more serious crime being committed’.
“This anti-social behaviour is a recurring problem on the Knockranny side of the town Greenway. Colonel’s Wood is being constantly damaged by the behaviour of these youths who use it as a drinking den and are setting fires there. They have broken down the fence between the wood and the Greenway, and it has not been repaired.
“Allowing this shameful behaviour to be perpetuated is going to result in very serious consequences. This part of the  Greenway is a no go area for locals and tourists after dark,” she said before adding that it was time the Council, Coillte and the Gardaí took immediate action.
Local councillor Christy Hyland said that he had contacted the local gardaí in relation to anti-social behaviour in the woods. He said they could only do what they could with the resources available to them. He added that he hoped that phase two of the CCTV will be a help to discourage this particular behaviour taking place in the woods.