Athlone Garda Station.

Young woman 'shaken' after Athlone greenway incident

Gardai are investigating an incident in which a woman in her 20s was left "shaken" after a man grabbed her by the shoulder while she was out jogging on the greenway in Athlone last week.

The incident happened at approximately 5.15pm on Tuesday last (November 8), a time when large parts of the town were impacted by a power cut.

Sergeant Andrew Haran said the woman was jogging near the Brawny exit from the greenway when a male approached her from behind, grabbed her by the shoulder and attempted to push her to the ground.

After a brief struggle, the woman managed to free herself from the man and to run away.

She had "a bad scare" but was not physically hurt, Sergeant Haran said.

"People are worried about the incident, but we don't know for sure what this person's motive was," he added.

"We took a statement from the young woman. She is recovering well, but she was certainly shaken by what happened."

He said the fact that the incident had occurred at dusk, and during a power cut, meant the jogger was unable to provide a very clear description of her assailant.

Gardai have been carrying out patrols and checks in the area over the last week, and would welcome assistance from any member of the public who may have further information about what happened.

Local councillor John Dolan said last week's incident underlined a need for CCTV to put in place on the greenway in the Athlone - Moate district.

He had raised this issue at a council meeting recently and was told that the provision of CCTV on the greenway was a matter for the Gardai.

"I don't accept the response from Westmeath County Council that this is just a matter for the Gardai, and I gave a number of examples of CCTV being provided on different greenways around the country," said Cllr Dolan.

"Only in the past week there was a serious incident on the greenway that proves my point that more surveillance and Garda presence is needed on the greenway," he commented.