Laois residents at 'wit's end' as boy racers making life a 'complete misery'

An appeal has been made on Laois Gardaí to deal with boy racers who it is claimed have made life miserable for residents on the main road between Rathdowney and Borris-in-Ossory.

The appeal was made in frustration to the Leinster Express / Laois Live by a resident who lives on the R435. He claims he and other residents should no longer have to put up with what is described as 'anti-social behaviour' by a group of late-night drivers who've been causing them torment for the past four years.

"We're at our wit's end," the resident told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

The resident said he and his neighbours have made up to 20 written complaints to Gardaí over the past four years due to the problem. Numerous verbal appeals for help have also been made.

The issue has been raised with Laois County Council and public representatives with the matter also the subject of a Dáil question. The most recent letter to gardaí in June said residents are suffering from a problem that is happening "seven days a week".

"There are now a total of ten persistent offenders who are making our lives a complete misery with loud and very noisy vehicles," said the letter.

It warned that residents were the verge of taking matters into their own hands to end the problem.

A letter written to Garda HQ in Portlaoise in January told of how the problem spoiled Christmas.

"Our lives have been greatly impacted by this, the Christmas period in particular was a real nightmare for us with vehicles constantly racing around our roads often up to 3am each morning," it said.

The letter added the residents were all law-abiding but felt they had been 'abandoned and let down' by authorities. 

A letter sent to Gardaí in May 2023 said the racing at high speed can start as early as 5.30 pm and continue up to 1am and beyond. 

"These vehicles are fitted with very noisy and loud exhaust systems, they constantly race through our community with no regard to other road users or indeed the resident," it said.

A 2021 letter described what is going on as anti-social behaviour that must be stopped. It says those involved are local and leave their mark.

"These individuals all live locally, are well known to most residents because of their persistent actions on our roads. It is very clear and obvious to seen the aftermath of these individuals, you only have to look at any turn off or junction along the R435 where you can see where they have been doing doughnuts in their vehicles together with what they call drifting leaving tyre marks on the carriageway," said the letter written in April 2021.

One resident who spoke to the Leinster Express / Laois Live said that apart from the nuisance caused there is a clear risk to the lives of the culprits. The resident said he rushed from his home on one occasion after hearing a loud noise of impact.

When he arrived on the scene, a driver had blood streaming from his head. He assisted and offered to call 999 but this was refused. Other vehicles including a tow truck soon arrived on the scene to remove the vehicle but no garda was alerted.

It was also claimed that residents have approached some of those involved in the activities in person to appeal to them to end their activities on the roads. The appeal was rejected.

It was also claimed that the issue has driven some people to sell their homes with others who are not farmers considering a similar move to escape the problem

A resident acknowledged that Gardaí have met local people in person about the problem, it has yet to tackle the problem.

Asked for comment a spokesperson for Laois Gardaí said actions have been taken and mounted in the vicinity. It was pointed out that the network of roads in the area makes the issue difficult to resolve.