Garda hunt for car, bin arsonist

GARDAI are hunting down a suspected arsonist who has been terrorising the Tyrrelstown community by setting cars on fire.
Over the past number of weeks, residents and gardai have noticed a pattern that cars are being set alight in the Ballentree area of Tyrrelstown at weekends.
According to one resident, it first started with communal bins being set on fire before moving on to cars.
“There was one burnt out car, but I didn’t think too much off it. Then our communal bins were set alight. They are beside the apartments there, but now it keeps happening.
“It is getting to the stage that at night you don’t know what is going to happen. It seems to be cars at the moment, but it is constant.
“It has moved from bins to cars; what happens if this person moves on from that? It is very worrying for residents in the area.
“These cars and bins are very close to where people are living.
“I have been living there seven years and this is the first time we have had trouble like this.
“This is going to keep on happening until someone is caught.
“It is happening nearly every week. The concern is what is it going to lead to,” she added.
A senior Garda source said they are “aware of the matters in hand” and that they would ask residents to be “vigilant and contact their local garda station or call 999 if anyone is acting suspiciously”.
“We are investigating the matter and will continue to do so,” a Garda source said.
There were no incidents reported last weekend, and the latest incident of a car being set alight was on St Patrick’s Day.
Mulhuddart councillor David McGuinness (FF) said he got on to gardai after being contacted by a number of concerned residents.
“People contacted me and sent me images. It is at a very serious level at the moment; people’s cars and work vans have been set alight. Are people’s homes in danger?
“We need residents to keep an eye out particularly at weekends and contact gardai if there is anything suspicious,” he added.
Another resident from the area said: “If you torch a car, it can be replaced, but we want this to be nipped in the bud before something more serious happens.
“Gardai are looking into it, and we want to let people know there is a possible pattern going on, it’s not just random, so keep an eye out,” he added.