Bettystown beach blighted by antisocial behaviour
RESIDENTS of Bettystown and Laytown Co Meath, are calling for an increased Garda presence following recent anti-social behaviour on the strand.
In a recent incident, local man Jack Black had to take evasive action to protect his young daughter, after a car driven by youths crashed into the barrier at the entrance of Bettystown beach.
A local couple was also threatened with a baseball bat during a joyriding incident on the same stretch of beach.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say it was absolutely terrifying, and my daughter Anna (6) was left very shocked and shaken, but thankfully wasn’t injured,” Mr Black told the Drogheda Independent.
“I was just about to walk onto the beach at around 8.30am on the Saturday morning with Anna and our dog Polly, but when I saw two cars doing donuts on the beach, I changed my mind.”
It was then, one car said to be a Nissan Micra sped off toward the square, and the second, a Toyota Avensis performed one last handbrake turn, before crashing into the median strip as he tried to exit the strand.
“It was pretty nasty, and we got a massive fright,“adds Jack, who is from Laytown but lives in Woodside, Bettystown, with his family.
“Someone could have been killed that day, and these lads have no regards for anyone’s safety on the beach. We need more Garda patrols to catch them in the act, or perhaps look at closing off the entrance to the beach at certain times.”
During the same incident, a local couple was left badly shaken after being threatened with a baseball bat, when they came across a car racing and doing donuts near the Laytown entrance to the strand.
“I was litter picking on the beach at the time and attempted to flag down the two cars involved,” explains the local resident, who did not wish to be identified.
“One stopped while the other drove at me knocking the litter picker out of his hand. A man then jumped out of his car and threatened me with a baseball bat. It was terrifying, and I think if I had been alone, I would have been seriously injured.”
His companion said they were extremely afraid.
“The cars were spinning around us, and we didn’t know if we would be hit, and you could see when the man had the bat, he had a crazed look on his face as though he was high,” she explains.
“It’s time to look at closing the beach off to traffic and vehicles parking on the beach and providing proper parking facilities for visitors and customers.”
Laytown gardai confirmed they attended the scene of an incident on the beach on Saturday April 28th, and their investigations are ongoing.