Councillors blame crime wave on reduction in garda force

A DRASTIC reduction in the number of gardaí in the west Waterford region has left the area vulnerable to a spate of crime.

Angry councillors made this claim at a meeting of Lismore Town Council in the wake of a series of recent robberies throughout the region, including an armed raid on the Lismore branch of the Bank of Ireland in which a three-man gang stole 70,000.

There have also been break-ins at a hotel, pub, grocery shop, guesthouse, and a number of private homes when valuable jewellery, cash, antiques, and other property was stolen.