A Drumcondra resident took matters into her own hands after a gang of "bullies" ripped the saddle off her bike while she was in Lidl.
Véronique is fed up of a minority of youths causing chaos for residents in the area and began to do her own investigative work. She quickly found out that the gang had taken a number of saddles from cyclists in the area.
She told Dublin Live that she is sick of young gangs feeling like they are above the law in the area.
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Véronique said: "I went to Lidl in Drumcondra on Saturday and parked my bike outside and when I came out the saddle wasn't there anymore. I looked around and spoke to a couple from England over for the weekend. The lady told me that she was too afraid to come over but she had seen a group of about ten teenagers try to steal my bike.
"One of them took the saddle instead. He walked down and violently threw it on the ground. Another group picked it up and then they walked down the Drumcondra Road . As I was waiting for the police (who never arrived), I talked to more people.
"A man had been through Griffith Park and said he had seen one of the boys hanging around with a saddle about ten minutes before. I called the police and they said that they would send a car but it never arrived. I couldn't go down myself to the park then.
"I posted into a local group on Facebook looking for information and a man answered saying that he had seen them boys and that they had the saddle. Somehow, he took it from them and left it on a bench. I went around the next morning but I couldn't find any saddle.
"I met some teenagers in the park and I asked them if they knew the boys and they said they had seen them and that they are always creating mayhem in the park.
"They had been walking around the park with saddles. So, they obviously stole multiple saddles in the same day. This small story highlights a much bigger problem that is not being addressed at all in Dublin-vandalism of bikes."
Véronique is sick of there not being consequences for gangs that are ruining the community and believes that many residents are scared of approaching them.
She said: "Nothing is done. The people I was chatting to are all afraid of these kids. I waited two hours outside for a garda car that never came. I rang them back to say that the kids were in the park with my saddle and they said they had no units and they were busy.
"A saddle to them I imagine is very small compared to the heavier stuff they deal with. I feel that we are letting way out-of-order kids believe they are untouchable. I've just had enough.
"It's a minority of young people and I believe it's the same groups. We are sick and tired of anti-social behaviour."
Through the power of social media, the French native was able to find her badly damaged bike saddle. A neighbour spotted it lying in Griffith Park.
She said: "I got my saddle back solely thanks to the community and my own taking of the inquest in my own hands. If it was not for social media and a man who took it from them, then commented on my post, I would not have recovered it. It is vandalised. I am so angry. We work hard to buy our bikes. I am not dropping the case."
A Garda spokeswoman said: "Gardaí are investigating the theft of a saddle on Drumcondra Road Upper on the evening of Saturday 16th July, 2022 at approximately 7.15p.m.
"Investigations ongoing."
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