Gardai in Laois say they will clamp down on ‘boy racers’ who are causing ‘serious disturbance’ in certain parts of the county.
The pledge was made by Chief Superintendent John Scanlan at a recent meeting of the Joint Policing Committee.
The commitment came after Fine Gael Councillor John King explained the situation in his area of Rathdowney.
Cllr King said: “We have lads in cars, high powered cars in the town at night time.
“I know at 12 o’clock they decide to go for a spin around the area while people are trying to sleep.
“It is causing serious disturbance and a great deal of distress to people living here.”
In response, Chief Superintendent John Scanlan said that Rathdowney now has a new sergeant.
He said that she lives in the area and will be ‘making herself known’ to people who engage in this activity.
He said: “We have a problem in that immediate area just at the moment. I want to send out a word of warning to those individuals.
“They better find somewhere else or stop doing it because we are going to catch them and put them off the road. Simple as that.
“It is a particular problem in Rathdowney. They gather in the square and at Manor Stone at times. That is a problem.
“It is also a measure of the economic wealth in society. I don’t know how much petrol or diesel costs at the moment but it costs way more than it used to.
“These people seem to find it and they seem to burn rubber on top of the roads.
“We are in a space where that has become a problem again and it generally only surfaces when there is economic good fortune in society.
“When we had a downturn a lot of these people disappeared off the face of the earth.”
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