Republican News · Thursday 9 January 1996

Community organises against car thieves

A PUBLIC MEETING TO BE HELD IN THE Civic Centre in the Dairy Farm Complex on the Stewartstown Road in Belfast on Wednesday 8 January is part of a community response to the latest upsurge in car theft and joyriding to hit West Belfast in recent weeks.

Dozens of car have been stolen and burnt by gangs of young people who have used them for joyriding mainly through the Poleglass and Twinbrook estates. In one night alone 13 vehicles were destroyed.

``The public meeting was organised to bring the communities together and organise a united response to this latest upsurge in car theft,'' said resident Elizabeth Nellins.

d at a protest organised by Poleglass residents last Sunday night 5 January Sinn Fein councillor Pat Rice joined community representatives and local clergy in calling for ``a concerted approach to the problems of joyriding''.

The protest was attended by hundreds of people, some of whom marched to the house of a joyrider at Ardcaoin Estate demanding he stop joyriding.

Meanwhile at a press conference in Conway Mill on Wednesday 8 Sinn Fein representatives Annie Armstrong, Michael Ferguson and Sue Ramsey outlined what the party sees as short term measures to prevent joyriding.

``We would ask parents to be vigilant about where their children are and also we would ask off-licences not to sell drink to minors,'' Sue Ramsey.said.

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