VANDALS HAVE DRILLED through 88 solar-powered public lights installed at a walkway in Co Cork at a cost of over €4,500.

Gardaí are investigating the incident which took place between 24 and 28 July at Crosshaven Walk in the South-East of Cork. 

The centre of each light was drilled through, damaging the lights beyond repair. The lights were installed as part of a pilot scheme at the walkway on 15 July. 

In a statement today, the Mayor of County Cork Christopher O’Sullivan expressed his disappointment over the incident. 

“The damage done to this pilot scheme of energy-efficient public lighting is very disappointing,” he said. 

The spotlights were put on an 800m stretch of the walkway between the car park at Kilnagleary and Leary’s Cross. There had been plans to include an additional 4.5km of lights in the future. 

The lights were “carefully chosen as the light from them is diffused horizontally over a specific localised area”, a council spokesperson said in a statement. 

The lights would clearly show the path in the evening time but remain sensitive to local wildlife. 

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The spokesperson described the pilot scheme of solar-powered lighting as being a subject of “irreparable vandalism”. 

The incident was reported to gardaí and is currently under investigation.