A group of Irish men was arrested yesterday night in Reykjavík after a fight had broken out between them and a local homeowner. Police had previously received numerous complaints about the men who had been approaching homeowners, offering them various gardening and home-improvement services. The men reportedly made their offers in an extremely aggressive and rude manner, and responded with threats and verbal abuse when people declined their services.
Gunnar Hilmarsson, Police Superintendent, tells The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the police arrested five men yesterday night, after one of them got into a fight with a homeowner who had hired three of them to pave a path by his house. The homeowner had not been happy witht he work performed by the men, and accused them of having stolen some of the supplies he had purchased for the work. After the Police was called to the scene the men were arrested and taken in for questioning. According to Gunnar the men are from Cork in Ireland and claim they are migrant workers, travelling around Europe working odd jobs.
The group has been released from custody, but Gunnar tells RÚV that the police hope they will leave the country.
Threatened an older lady
Earlier this week the police had warned Reykjavík residents about the group of men, after receiving numerous complaints from concerned homeowners who had been visited by the group. People had also circulated accounts of their interactions with the men on social media. A Facebook note by a local woman which described her mother‘s encounter with the group has been shared 1,824 times.
On Friday a man had approached her mother, who is about to turn eighty and lives alone, offering to clean her yard. The man demanded she pay him a cool million ISK for the work (7,500 USD/6,800 EUR). The price shocked the woman who declined the offer and asked the man to leave. However, the man wouldn’t take no for an answer and told the woman he would show up the next day to start work. This interaction frightened the woman who contacted the police and asked her children and grandchildren to monitor the house. When the men did show up, reportedly without tools and not dressed for any kind of yard work, they were kindly informed the old woman did not want their services. According to the Facebook note the men responded extremely rudely, and shouted fu*k off before driving off.
Following further complaints and reports the police sent out a warning to Reykjavík residents, warning them in a Facebook post to be cautious when approached by a group of men who are offering homeowners various services.
A group of Irish men was arrested yesterday night in Reykjavík after a fight had broken out between them and a local homeowner. Police had previously received numerous complaints about the men who had been approaching homeowners, offering them various gardening and home-improvement services. The men reportedly made their offers in an extremely aggressive and rude manner, and responded with threats and verbal abuse when people declined their services.
Gunnar Hilmarsson, Police Superintendent, tells The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the police arrested five men yesterday night, after one of them got into a fight with a homeowner who had hired three of them to pave a path by his house. The homeowner had not been happy witht he work performed by the men, and accused them of having stolen some of the supplies he had purchased for the work. After the Police was called to the scene the men were arrested and taken in for questioning. According to Gunnar the men are from Cork in Ireland and claim they are migrant workers, travelling around Europe working odd jobs.
The group has been released from custody, but Gunnar tells RÚV that the police hope they will leave the country.
Threatened an older lady
Earlier this week the police had warned Reykjavík residents about the group of men, after receiving numerous complaints from concerned homeowners who had been visited by the group. People had also circulated accounts of their interactions with the men on social media. A Facebook note by a local woman which described her mother‘s encounter with the group has been shared 1,824 times.
On Friday a man had approached her mother, who is about to turn eighty and lives alone, offering to clean her yard. The man demanded she pay him a cool million ISK for the work (7,500 USD/6,800 EUR). The price shocked the woman who declined the offer and asked the man to leave. However, the man wouldn’t take no for an answer and told the woman he would show up the next day to start work. This interaction frightened the woman who contacted the police and asked her children and grandchildren to monitor the house. When the men did show up, reportedly without tools and not dressed for any kind of yard work, they were kindly informed the old woman did not want their services. According to the Facebook note the men responded extremely rudely, and shouted fu*k off before driving off.
Following further complaints and reports the police sent out a warning to Reykjavík residents, warning them in a Facebook post to be cautious when approached by a group of men who are offering homeowners various services.
