People power saves the day after vandals strike at Ballineskar car park
A group of civic-minded people worked on their hands and knees for more than two hours to clear a trail of broken glass from Ballineskar Car Park.
Jonathan Derham and Ian Campbell joined four women returning from a walk to clear the glass from the car park, which had been deliberately smashed and strewn across the entrance and exit, with smashed shards of broken bottles contaminating grassy areas.
While the vandalism had been described as ‘mindless’ Mr Derham said it was anything but and was intended to catch out motorists, and people going to and from the beach across grass verges with their pets.
‘All the green bottles were littered through the grass,’ he said, ‘ the car park was littered with broken glass as was the grass bank that people cross to access the beach. A huge hidden risk to little feet galloping to and from the beach.
‘It was deliberate, anti-social and mindless,’ he said, adding that despite the risk to themselves, the women involved in the clean up got bags from their cars and, got down on their haunches and picked through the grass.
‘It showed enormous social as well as personal courage,’ said Mr Derham, adding that he did not know the names of any of the women involved in the impromptu clean up.
‘ This was a very impressive and selfless gesture, and reinforces the spontaneous good that resides in people and communities,’ said Mr Derham.