Light vandals concern

The incident happened on Friday night and was condemned by one local councollor.

Sinn Fein’s Mark O’Dowd hit out at the youths responsible, calling for an end to the vandalism.

He said: “Unfortunately this is not an isolated case of this type of interference.

“While this tomfoolery might be seen as a bit of ‘craic’ to those involved, the reality is that it caused distress and confusion for some of the elderly residents living in the vicinity and potentially endangers their security.”

Cllr O’Dowd pointed out that there was a substantial cost to this type of vandalism both in terms of replacing expensive equipment, work-hours and the diverting of street lighting personnel away from genuine emergencies.

He continued: “I would ask those young people involved to think about the consequences of their actions and the effect it can have on their neighbours and to desist from doing it.

“I call on those involved in this type of vandalism to stop destroying what is a community facility.”

Cllr O’Dowd explained that local community workers had contacted him on Friday evening about the problem.

“When I contacted Roads Service and explained the situation they were very helpful and I would like to thank their street lighting section for the quick response.”