A warning has been issued to motorists of the danger of the high spring tides - after a number of cars were submerged in the sea at a Co Meath beach on Tuesday.
It is understood at least five cars were trapped in the water at Bettystown Beach when the high tide came onshore.
The vehicles are understood to have been badly damaged as a result of the salt water and had to be towed off the beach.
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Our images show the shocking scenes that greeted car owners when they returned to their vehicles which were submerged in the sea.
Local councillor Sharon Tolan has now warned car owners to be aware of tide times before they park and leave their vehicles on the beach.
“I really feel for the car owners and it’s a hard lesson to learn,” Cllr Tolan told this paper.
“It’s a very unfortunate experience and I understand the cars have either been badly damaged or written off. One of the cars was actually bobbing up and down in the sea.”
Cllr Tolan said concrete blocks have been put in place on the beach to prevent vehicles parking on undesignated areas on the beach and these blocks prevented the cars from being swept out to sea.
She is urging motorists to be aware of tide times before they park their vehicles on the beach but is also urging motorists to use the car park at Funtasia across the road from the beach or on street parking spaces.
“If people are going for lunch or shopping locally and cannot find on street parking, there’s parking at Funtasia for €4 for the day.”
Cllr Tolan has also called on the local authority to extend more parking for beach goers.
"We banned cars from driving on the beach but we cordoned off an area at the beach to provide parking for people with disabilities and age friendly parking spaces and there is also a front row that has no restrictions on parking. But I am also calling on the local authority to make more parking available for beach goers.
“What happened on Tuesday is a hard and unfortunate lesson for the motorists to learn.”
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