Áine Ryan
SMOKING spliffs and cruising the cosmos is not what the many visitors to the heritage haven of Westport expect during their winter breaks. But, hey man, you would forgive those dudes who hit town early last week for thinking they had inadvertently landed in the hometown of some famous South American drug lord. Not only were the traffic lights decorated with symbols of the marijuana leaf but rather strange graffiti – believed to symbolise the leaf – was spotted also by our undercover photographer who naturally assured us he has never inhaled any illegal substance, even while in the pursuit of breaking news stories. Local sleuth, Inspector Joe McKenna also confirmed to The Mayo News yesterday that he was aware of the symbols on the traffic lights. “I saw the traffic lights and the symbols have since been removed. I believe that heart signs appeared around the same time on traffic lights in Galway city. The only concern we had was that they might distract motorists, ” Insp McKenna said. He assured The Mayo News that gardaí were not worried that the signs or the graffiti were the work of serious drug pushers. “I believe this was simply a prank and there is no need for anyone to be concerned,” Insp McKenna said. Phew! But what a buzz.