Four 'aggressive' teenagers left Dublin residents fearing for their families' lives after they allegedly abandoned a car that Gardai were forced to remove.
The youths started banging on the doors of northside houses in St. Marnock's Bay in the middle of the night demanding information about "their" vehicle which had been dumped there a few hours previous.
The car was parked randomly in one of the neighbour's parking spots which alerted those living in the estate to the suspicious car.
One resident of the quiet housing estate told Dublin Live: "Around 3pm on Saturday afternoon, a car with no tax or insurance was dumped into our estate.
"The Gardai were called in and they did a check on the vehicle registration and it was discovered that it was registered to an individual in a different part of north Dublin.
"Later that day, at midnight, I was relaxing in my home with my wife and suddenly we heard a bit of commotion outside.
"Suddenly, my doorbell started to ring and there were some aggressive bangs on my window, along with some shouting.
"I looked out my window and I saw that there was four youths in my driveway."
The resident's children proceeded to wake up with the noise but he answered the door despite his concerns that they may be "dangerous or armed".
He continued: "I called out to them asking what they wanted. At this point, my kids were woken up and quite scared. They shouted back that they were looking for their car.
"At that point, I stopped replying and put my kids back to bed. They quickly left my garden. They were also ringing the doorbell of other neighbours in the area."
Their search didn't stop there, however, as one member of the group returned to the estate the following morning asking the same question.
He continued: "They were told that the Gardai took the car and they should contact the station. It's a bit concerning and unsettling."
The father has been a long time resident of Portmarnock and has noticed an increase in crime and suspicious behaviour in the last three years.
He said: "The estate has been peaceful until recent months where we've started to see more people come in on the train line and cause hassle like cars being robbed and break-in attempts.
"With the Garda station in Malahide closed, I'm starting to feel really helpless as a resident."
A spokesman for Gardai confirmed to Dublin Live that "a vehicle was reported abandoned on Station Rd, Portmarnock on 18 January" but added that no further information was available.
