Gardai in Cork responded quickly to reports of a man harassing customers - including opening the door of a car while a woman was alone in the vehicle - in one of Cork's busiest car-parks. The Q-Park facility on the Grand Parade in Cork has been targetted by aggressive beggars in recent weeks, with the partner of one woman saying she was in the car park late in the evening recently, about to drive off to go home when a man suddenly opened the door to her car and asked her for 'a couple of euros'. The woman was deeply distressed by the incident, which came as a shock in otherwise quiet carpark at nighttime, and her partner told CorkBeo that after she told the man she had no cash, he asked her again before then walking away.
The woman drove to the exit and alerted staff. "She got a shock, she'd put some bags in the boot, got into the car and was putting on her seatbelt and this guy came out of nowhere and opened the door, she had to tell him twice that she didn't have any cash," he said. CorkBeo understands this was one of a number of similar incidents in recent weeks, with aggressive beggers going into the carpark and approaching customers either after they have parked or while they are in their cars.
Gardai have stepped up public order patrols in the area, where groups of rough drinkers have recently been congregating, on the benches around the Robo Trees and around the entrance to Cork City Library, as well as in the small park in front of the now-closed Electric bar and rest.
