Second petrol station ram raid attack in a month

November 2008

RAM-RAID attacks are gaining popularity with Wicklow’s criminal fraternity with a second such attack on a petrol station in less than four weeks.

Parts of Newcastle Petrol Station were left in tatters after five thieves smashed through the front of the Stop and Shop at the garage in a Land Rover which had been stolen in the Rathnew area a few hours before hand.

Gardaí at Greystones and Newtownmountkennedy were called to the scene in the aftermath of the raid and they are currently reviewing CCTV footage from the store.

The hoodlums rammed the jeep at full speed into the front of the shop.

Footage from CCTV cameras show the raiders dressed in tracksuits, hoodies and balaclavas attempting to gain access to the cigarette machine and the till before fleeing empty handed.

The thugs had damaged the Land Rover they used in the ram raid so badly that they abandoned it close to the scene and gardaí believe they escaped in a second car.

This was the second ram raid to occur in the area with raiders again fleeing empty handed from a petrol station in near by Kilcoole last month.

It also follows a spate of armed robberies in petrol stations throughout the county in Arklow, Wicklow and Greystones.