Gardaí are investigating a case of criminal damage after a landowner in east Co. Galway discovered several gates on his farm had been cut in half.

The incident occurred in the Castlefrench area near Ballinasloe overnight between last Thursday (May 1) and Friday (May 2).

The owner of the farm found that three gates on the land had been damaged.

Gardaí are asking for anyone with information on the incident to make contact.

A statement from gardaí said: "Gardaí in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, are investigating an incident of criminal damage that occurred in the Castlefrench area between Thursday...and Friday.

"The farm owner discovered that three gates on his land had been cut in half," gardaí explained.

"Anyone who may have any information in relation to this incident is asked to contact Ballinasloe Garda Station on 090 963 1890 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111," the statement added.

Separately, gardaí in Galway are also carrying out property-marking clinics around the county this week.

Property owners, especially those in rural areas, including farmers, are encouraged to mark their property in such a way that it can be returned to them in the event it is stolen.

A property-marking clinic took place in the village of Ardrahan on Monday (May 5).

A post on the An Garda Síochána Facebook page said: "This is a free service, where everything from hand tools to trailers were engraved with a unique identifier. This not only deters a criminal from taking property, but greatly assists An Garda Síochána in finding its rightful owner when we recover it."

A further property-marking clinic took place in the village of Derrybrien yesterday evening (Tuesday, May 6), while another clinic is scheduled for Loughrea Mart this Saturday (May 10), from 10:00a.m to 2:00p.m.

In other news related to rural crime, a community demonstration to highlight local policing concerns took place outside Derrinturn Garda station, Co. Kildare late last month.

The organiser of the demonstration, Aontú member John Bryan, told Agriland the aim of the protest was to raise a number of different issues around rural policing.

The demonstrators sought for the number of gardaí assigned to the station to be doubled to 10, back to levels the station had in 2015. The demonstrators were also calling for an extension of the station’s opening hours.

Bryan said: “Currently the station is open three days a week, for barely three hours of those days. So you’re talking about it being open less than 10 hours per week. We want to see it open from Monday to Friday, at least."