Fears about joyriding in Limerick community

One resident said the constant issues were causing people to move out of the area due to safety concerns

Residents have called for more of a Garda presence to help ease the issue. File picture

A community in Limerick is calling for more to be done to tackle dangerous driving in an area notorious for crashes. 

Residents in Ballinacurra-Weston say the ongoing problem needs to be dealt with, as more and more “good families” are moving out due to anti-social behaviour. One resident, who works with the community, said the problem was centred around one group of young people.

“It’s the same faces, in different cars. I don’t know where they are getting the money, but they go off and buy a car and drive it until they crash it and burn it, or the gardaí take it off of them,” they said.

The problem has come to a point in recent weeks, when a car was seen being driven recklessly around a communal green in one estate, before it was abandoned and set on fire near a local church. A video of the incident, which was shared widely on social media, shows the car becoming airborne as it goes over a grass embankment.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said they were unable to locate any reports that matched the incident.

However, a resident said this could be due to the fact there is “no one left” to report it.

“A lot of good families have left the area, because of problems like this,” they said, referring to one particular estate.

Number of fatal crashes

The area has seen a number of fatal crashes in recent years. In 2020, two people were killed in a collision on Hyde Road when a car struck a cyclist. In 2018, a young boy was seriously injured and in 2016, a man in his 20s died, all on the same stretch of road.

Local councillor Sarah Kiely said she had been contacted by a number of residents about the issue.

“I will make contact with the gardaí and ask for more patrols for the area,” she said.

She said there were a number of high-tech cameras in the area and wants to see them used to tackle the behaviour.

“I worry for people living in the area. I'm originally from Hyde Road myself, my father still lives there, and I have family in Weston. So, I would worry for them,” Ms Kiely said.