Council employee threatens to set himself alight

A five-hour stand-off between Gardaí and a man who threatened to set himself alight with petrol has ended peacefully in Co Clare.

The incident began shortly after 8am this morning when a Clare County Council employee prevented a contractor from carrying out work on a road in Feakle.

The 58-year-old Clare County Council employee locked himself into his van with a can of petrol and a lighter and he emerged at around 1pm this afternoon, but was not arrested.

Clare County Council has said it is dealing with the matter sympathetically.