The gardaí withdrew charges yesterday against a man who had threatened to turn a high-profile new housing scheme on the north-side of Cork city into a “hell of hassle and damage” after his subsequent promise that there would be no trouble was borne out.

Taxpayers could face a €400,000 bill for providing 24-hour Garda security for builders who worked on a Traveller housing scheme.

A father-of-nine threatened to destroy a new €5 million Traveller housing facility in Cork city and told gardaí: “We’ll make your lives hell in the new site.”