We’ve bin robbed
Hundreds of wheelie bins are stolen and burned in a town
HUNDREDS of wheelie bins have been stolen and set on fire in Ireland’s biggest town.
Residents in Drogheda, Co Louth, are furious after the spate of thefts over a five-week period.
Councillor Paul Bell said it was a growing problem around the town’s estates – and he said youngsters were to blame.
Cllr Bell added: “I contacted one major waste company in the region and was informed that in a four or five week period they had 500 reports of bins being stolen or destroyed. There seems to be no regard for the unfortunate people who own the bins who end up having to pay to have them replaced.
“This is not to mention the enormous damage been done to green areas around the town which are very valuable to the local people.
“In one case a local lady said she has had to replace her bin five times in a three-year period and each time it cost her between €40 and €60.
“I can’t understand why parents don’t speak to their children and teenagers and warn them that this is not acceptable behaviour.”
The young louts are even targeting green bins filled with cardboard and paper because they are easier to set alight. And there are now growing fears the situation will worsen in the run-up to Halloween.
Cllr Bell added: “This pattern of behaviour has been growing over the past three years.
“Bins have set alight close to homes in Drogheda and in one case a family had a narrow escape when a blazing bin ruptured a gas main.
“Just days before Halloween last year thugs set a bin alight a few metres from a bedroom where children slept but luckily it was spotted by a passer-by.”