An RTÉ cameraman was punched and kicked by two men while working in Roscommon yesterday.
RTÉ reporter Ciaran Mullooly and his cameraman were being shown around an illegal human sewage pit by two men from the Fuerty Action Group Against Pollution when they were set upon by two other men.
The cameraman was punched in the body and knocked to the ground twice by both men.
Mr Matt Geraghty (69) of the action group tried to protect the RTÉ cameraman, but he was also beaten and kicked in the head as he lay on the ground.
"It was a vicious attack, I tried to talk to them but there was no reasoning with them" said Mr Mullooly last night.
The camera, worth €70,000, was then wrestled from the cameraman by one of the attackers and thrown into the sludge pit.
Gardaí in Roscommon have launched an investigation into the incident.