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Concerned residents in a Kildare village have heard how one elderly woman has to look out a window before hanging out washing because of the anti-social behaviour in her garden.

A public meeting with gardai was held in Celbridge on Monday night. The meeting was opened by Cllr Kevin Byrne and chaired by Cllr Ide Cussen.

Residents raised concerns about break-ins to local businesses, drugs and anti-social behaviour, as well as a lack of garda presence in the town.

In a letter to residents after the meeting, the two local reps detailed the distressing case of the worried pensioner.

They said: "Many residents gave accounts of how their quality of life is affected by these issues.

"The most poignant of these was when an elderly lady explained how she has to look out her upstairs window before going out to her back garden to hang out washing as there is anti-social behaviour at her back garden.

"Everyone was moved by that and it strengthened the resolve in the room to get something done about crime, vandalism and ant-social behaviour in Celbridge."

The councillors added that the gardai had been very response to locals' concerns and agreed to a follow up meeting in February or March next year.

A motion was also proposed and agreed on calling for additional garda resources for Celbridge.