CCTV a 'necessity' after human sh*t left in castle hut in Tipperary playground

Independent Local Election candidate Liam Browne has called on Tipperary County Council to install CCTV cameras as a matter of urgency at the new playground in Cashel, after the facility had to be closed for cleaning and disinfection after a particularly serious incident on Saturday.

One mother, who did not wish to be named, attended the playground on Saturday with her two young kids.

She said: “I initially thought it was dog poo. But it was actually human faeces.

“Who would do such a thing? It is disgusting and dangerous when you have kids going up there to play. Absolutely shocking. Something needs to be done about it.”

Meanwhile, Mr Browne said: “This was just the culmination of a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour at the playground, that is putting parents off using the facility, which was recently renovated at great expense to the public in the town.”

He said: “On Saturday afternoon, he received a number of phone calls about the incident in the playground, that left parents and their children shocked and repulsed, and he immediately contacted council officials to close the playground.

“The officials responded brilliantly, but they had no choice but to keep the playground closed until Monday morning for specialist cleaning and disinfection of the area.

“They also told me that this was not the first time they were called out to a similar incident in the past.”

Mr Browne also said that once he had made the issue known, other users of the playground contacted him, with stories of intimidation, anti-social behaviour including break ins at cars in the area, and of parents being put off using the playground because of older teenagers using the playground to hang out in, and making it uncomfortable for small children.

His solution to the problem is to call the council to nip this issue in the bud, before the park stops being used altogether, with a huge waste of time, money and effort by the volunteer team who raised tens of thousands of euros to renovate the playground in recent years.

That would also mean the loss of a wonderful facility that is used weekly by hundreds of children not only from Cashel, but the surrounding villages who come into town.

He added: “The best way to do this would be to immediately install CCTV cameras in the area, and to let the small group of ignorant individuals know that they are being observed, and to tackle them with the full extent of the law, if their behaviour crosses that legal line, which it has done in the recent past.

“It is a shame that as the weather is getting better and the evenings are getting longer, the playground has to be closed, and this should never be the case again.”

Social media has been flooded with comments highlighting the issues facing the playground.

One user said: “I had my daughters up here a few months ago and we had to leave the playground, along with about 8 or 9 other families because of the behaviour of a small few. One mother was ringing the guards as we were leaving because of the carry on in there. Urinating on the slides etc. We haven't gone back since after seeing this which is such a shame because it's a fabulous playground”

Another added: “I am not condoning what happened in here in any way.

“But I would like to say that years ago when this upgrade was happening it was suggested to the council that this was not a suitable location anymore due to antisocial behaviour and the enclosed and isolated area it is located at.

“But the council refused to move it.”

Another said: “It’s a shame that playgrounds are becoming unsafe for children instead of a great amenity that they are meant to be .”