Vandals cut down trees with chainsaw

Vandals cut down trees with chainsaw


Michael Duffy

GARDAÍ in Ballinrobe are investigating what a local councillor has called ‘an act of mindless and wanton vandalism’, where ten-year-old oak trees were cut down, it appears, with a chainsaw in the early hours of last Wednesday morning.
Three separate trees were cut down in the incident, which was discovered by early morning walkers in the Bowers Walk area of the town.
Fianna Fáil councillor Damien Ryan condemned the act and said it was hard to understand the motive for vandalism of this sort. “This is pure mindless and wanton vandalism and quite why someone would go to the trouble of hauling a chainsaw into a park and destroy maturing trees is beyond me. People like this deserve to be caught and, for me, it again highlights the need for a CCTV camera system in this area, where up to €300,000 has been spent to enhance the local amenity park.”
Tom Tiernan, a member of the local Tidy Towns committee, said people could not believe their eyes on Wednesday morning and he hoped replacements would be planted by the Council, whose workers cleaned up the Bowers area on Thursday last.