Several Kells shops attacked by vandals

Kells town councillor Brian Curran has been the latest victim of a spate of vandalism attacks on local businesses in the town. The front windows of his new shop, Castle Elegance, in Castle Street were smashed at around 5am on Sunday morning. A hairdressers nearby and two shops in Farrell Street were also the victim of a similar attack last week and a number of windows were also broken in Kenlis Place in the last week or two. 'This is a nightmare for local businesses and for local residents. There are elderly people living near to my shop and they were very distressed to hear the noise at around 5am in the morning,' he said. 'It is disgraceful that thugs do such harm when people are trying to rest,' he added. Cllr Curran said that as a public representative and a local businessman he would be seeking a meeting with the local Garda superintendent to see how this type of vandalism could be curtailed, particularly in the early hours of the morning when people were leaving pubs and nightclubs. Cllr Curran"s new shop, Castle Elegance, was preparing to do brisk trade for Mother"s Day on Sunday and, although he was able to trade from his other shop next door, he admits it was a major blow to him. 'It was an expensive night for me, having to replace the glass, and furniture and gifts that were on display in the window were damaged, too,' he said. 'It is just a small percentage of young thugs who are doing this. We need more Gardai on the streets at night to stop this kind of behaviour,' he said. Cllr Curran explained that a passing lorry driver rang him in the early hours of Sunday morning to tell him his shop had been vandalised and he wanted to thank him for help. He said it was the third time his shop had been vandalised. He urged anyone who has any information about the attack on his premises or any other of the recent incidents around the town to contact Kells Gardai. Meanwhile, his council colleague, Cllr Bryan Reilly, has called for the revival of the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in Kells. He recalled that the scheme was very popular in the past and the new district policing schemes also made the time ripe for their revival. 'Neighbourhood Watch has proven a strong bonding idea in new estates down the years, helping not only to increase friendships between new neighbours but also reduce petty vandalism and other anti-social behaviour,' he said. He welcomed the new district policing body which, he said, would enable communities to strengthen their estates through tackling problems more quickly, thus nipping them in the bud.