Woman’s house set alight days after nursing home move

THE home of an elderly Limerick woman was ransacked and set alight shortly after she moved to live in a nursing home.

The woman, aged 87, had arranged for her family to take over the dormer bungalow at Quinn’s Cottages in Prospect.

But a gang of youths broke into the house last Thursday and, after vandalising the property, set the building alight.

The family have requested the woman’s name not be publicised.

Cllr Joe Leddin said elderly residents at Quinn’s Cottages are living in fear of young gangs. There are 48 houses in Quinn’s Cottages, which were built by Limerick City Council almost 100 years ago.

Gangs of youths have recently been waging attacks on houses in the area.

“Elderly people have been living there all their lives. There is one lady of 90 years and the windows of her home have been battered. It is disgraceful,” Cllr Leddin said. “We are talking about mindless young thugs answerable to no one simply marauding around this city, hell bent on causing destruction, pain and misery.”

He said gardaí should be given more powers to deal with juvenile crime.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It is absolutely brutal. You just don’t know what to expect. I was so upset by what happened here. How can people do this? It is just dreadful. You cannot even look at young people in the eye because you are then targeted yourself.”