There has been another petrol bomb attack in Drogheda, Co Louth, bringing to eight the number of attacks over the past week.

The latest attack in an ongoing related feud between two local criminal gangs in the area took place last night when a suspected petrol bomb was thrown at a vacant house on the Rathmullen Road.

No one was injured in the incident.

Gardaí say the feud is drugs related.

They are investigating other incidents including petrol bomb attacks and a pipe bomb attack on the car of one of the gang associates girlfriends which necessitated the deployment of an Army bomb disposal team in the town on Sunday.

An 18-year-old was also assaulted with a hatchet and five people arrested in connection with a kidnapping over the weekend are also still being questioned.

Gardaí have moved to reassure people that there is a policing plan in place to deal with the ongoing feud, and all garda leave has been cancelled in the Louth division in response to the latest spate of incidents.

A former lord mayor of Drogheda has said the local community needs a commitment from the State that policing in the town will be properly resourced.

A Fine Gael TD has called on the Minister for Justice to ensure all necessary resources are available to deal with an ongoing feud in Drogheda.

Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Fine Gael TD for Louth Fergus O'Dowd said the Minister for Justice needs to ensure all necessary resource are available to deal with the ongoing feud, and he said he has raised the issue with Minister Charlie Flanagan a number of times.

He said "We need more gardaí, we've needed them for some time now and the minister is aware of that, as are the local gardaí."

Mr O'Dowd also welcomed the escalation in garda activity in the town recently, but said "while it reassures people, they would wish these criminals were put away for a long, long time."

Earlier on RTÉ's News at One, Labour Councillor Pio Smith said that while An Garda Síochána has stepped up operations over the last couple of weeks, he feels that some of the incidents would not have happened if gardaí had been properly resourced.

Cllr Smith claimed an overtime ban imposed on gardaí in Drogheda has had a "significant negative effect in terms of building community relationships".

"The core central point of policing is the community, and if the community does not have faith in the local guards then there is going to be a breakdown in terms of the passing of information and other aspects of crime."

Cllr Smith added that two or three large estates in the town on the Louth/Meath border have been "in lockdown" due to the ongoing dispute.

"Individual guards are doing their best. We have some fantastic community policing units in the county and in Drogheda but they need proper resourcing. We need a commitment from the State that this is going to be ongoing in relation to the support for the local guards in Drogheda."