Two Dublin men found guilty of stealing caravan

Two Dublin men who were found guilty of handling a caravan that had been stolen in Newry and followed across the border by the owner have been given community service after they were deemed suitable by the Probation Service.

Details of the incident, which happened on January 25 last year, were revealed after the men pleaded not guilty to handling stolen property.

Edward Wall, (25), Newtown Park Tallaght and Martin Wall (37), Fortunestown Lane, Tallaght, were before the court, along with a third man.

The victim had told the court how he had spotted his Hobby Excelsior caravan being towed by an Isuzu and he followed it, contacting the PSNI and then the Gardai as he followed it along the motorway.

Close to junction 18, a number of Garda vehicles appeared, including armed members of the Regional Response Unit and the Isuzu pulled over. The key of the caravan was found in the jeep.

In interviews with Gardai, the defendants denied knowing the caravan had been stolen. All three said they met with a member of another Traveller man around Newry where, they claimed, Edward Wall bought the caravan with €3,000 in cash.

The men added they didn’t think there was anything suspicious about the alleged transaction.

Martin Wall, a father of six, has a number of previous convictions, including for robbery. Edward Wall, the court heard, has a number of dangerous driving and traffic convictions.

The cases were adjourned to last week for community service suitability reports and Judge John Coughlan was told the pair were suitable for community service.

Edward Wall was given 120 hours instead of six months in prison, while Martin Wall was given 200 hours instead of nine months.