Drivers warned as chainsaw gang fell trees to block roads after dark

A mysterious gang is taking a chainsaw under cover of darkness and knocking trees and telegraph poles across public roads in East Galway in what has been labelled an act of malicious vandalism which is putting lives at risk.

Gardaí are investigating at least five of the bizarre fellings that have taken place over the last three weeks.

In one incident across the Roscommon border at Attyrory near Ballinasloe, a female driver narrowly escaped serious injury when a branch of a knocked tree smashed through her windscreen and wrote off the car.

Council workers have been called out in the dead of night to remove the obstacles, which have blocked roads in Northbrook, Aughrim, between Ballyforan and Ahascragh and on the R446 between Eastwell and Kilrickle.

“They’re maliciously cut down to hurt people,” insisted one council worker who responded to at least two of the incidents.

“People were of the opinion it might be a case of cutting trees for firewood and it went wrong. But there were smaller trees there they could have cut and easily be taken away. I believe it is malicious.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Dermot Connolly said his wife, a vet, was returning home from work at 2am when she had to make a 13 mile detour because of the knocked tree.

“This is extremely dangerous. I don’t know if it’s a prank or people trying to salvage wood but it’s a very dangerous act and if somebody came across it on a foggy or rainy night on a bend it’s a fatality waiting to happen,” he remarked.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.