A woman in her 90s has been hospitalised after she was mugged in a park by two young men in a park in Co Cork on Tuesday afternoon.
The woman and her friend (60s) were out walking in the Castle Grounds near the centre of Macroom, and were sitting at a park bench at around 2.55pm when the incident occurred.
Two men crept up from behind and surprised them, grabbing one woman’s handbag and pulling both women off the park bench in the struggle before fleeing with the bag.
A local man came upon the two women and phoned the gardaí and the older woman was taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital where she was treated for minor injuries.
Meanwhile, gardaí established the two men made their way further into the park, crossing a fairway at Macroom Golf Club before climbing over a wall at Sleaveen overlooking the town to make their escape.
Gardaí have begun harvesting CCTV footage from around Macroom in the hope of identifying the culprits possibly entering the Castle Grounds through the main entrance by the castle gates.
However, gardaí have also appealed to the public for assistance and have appealed to any motorists with dashcam footage who were driving through town or in Sleaveen between 2.30pm and 3.30pm on Tuesday to contact them.
Gardaí have described the two suspects as being tall, thin and in their late teens/early 20s and urged anyone who saw them or any suspicious activity around the town yesterday to contact them on 026-20590.
“This was a nasty, mean crime on two vulnerable women and one which has caused a lot of upset locally as the Castle Grounds is a popular walk with locals so we’re hoping people can help us solve it quickly,” a Garda spokesman said.
