A MAN WAS viciously assaulted while walking home from the Luas on Sunday evening as gardaí attempt to quell multiple acts of anti-social behaviour in the Dublin 8 area.

The man underwent surgery on his jaw after he was attacked by a group of youths as he walked home with his wife on the Suir Road at around 5.20pm.

Both the victim and his wife were travelling on the Red Line Luas when a group of teenagers started to pass comment on what was in their shopping bags.

According to the victim’s mother, the couple ignored the taunts and got off at their stop at around 5.20pm when they were followed by the group who then attacked the man from behind.

The man suffered injuries to his face and body and received a broken jaw. He has since had surgery and has been told he cannot eat solids for six weeks.

As he was unable to talk, his mother told TheJournal.ie that when they called the gardaí, they were told they were not in a position to attend the assault as there were “no cars” to come out.

“They phoned 999 and then after 20 minutes of waiting, they decided to go home. They rang again and told the guards where they’d be. Still, nobody came. What really got to us was that nobody bothered to get in touch with him. He was in hospital getting surgery. They told him to come in and give a statement.

“We were concerned that the CCTV from the Luas might be deleted. The morning after the attack, my husband went to Kilmainham Garda Station and asked why they hadn’t come up to his son. They said ‘we had no car’.”

The mother said that she told them it was not acceptable and that word spread about what had happened to her son.

“The victim should be put first but they weren’t in this case. It could have been a lot worse.”

That particular area of Dublin 8 has been plagued by anti-social behaviour since the start of last year.

In December of last year, TheJournal.ie reported how two cyclists were targeted with metal bars as they attempted to go home from a day’s work.

An Garda Síochána has been contacted for comment.