TWO men are helping Youghal Gardaí with their investigation into a foiled raid on the clothes bins in Tesco Youghal’s recycling facility, in the early hours of Sunday, March 6th. - By Christy Parker

The Gardaí arrived following reports of a noisy disturbance at the location at about 3am. They discovered a D-reg 04 van parked at Gallagher’s Mews – which is divided by a wire fence from the dozen recycling bins in Tesco car park. A Garda spokesman says three males were engaged in ‘throwing clothing across the wire into the waiting van.’ One of the bins had sustained considerable damage. Residents say one of the individuals was ‘quite small,’ raising the possibility of a child having been used to gain access to the bins’ interiors.

The Garda patrol car subsequently failed to start, and the gang escaped on foot. The van was taken away for forensic investigation. Some hours later, two Eastern European men presented themselves at Youghal Garda Station, claiming their van had been stolen overnight. ‘It is safe to say they quickly became suspects, and are now helping us with our inquiries,’ says the Garda spokesman.