Man arrested after pensioner tells of being brutally attacked in town in the Midlands

A pensioner has told how he was savagely attacked while attempting to intervene during an alleged row between a man and a woman in Longford town on Sunday morning.

The man, who is aged 79, stepped in after a man and a woman became embroiled in a row along the Great Water Street area of town at around 9am.

A man in his 30s has since been arrested and is currently being quizzed by detectives at Longford garda station.

The elderly man was seen sporting a cut and bruise over his left eye as gardaí arrived on the scene within minutes of the alleged attack taking place.

“This fella was going around all morning trying to rise a row and another man told him to stop several times, the next thing you could see is he pulled at her several times and she pushed him back,” he said. 

“Then it started again and he tried to kill her and only for me she would be dead. He would have killed her.”

The man, who asked for his name not to be published, said he had been left shaken by the ordeal.

“He (alleged suspect) hit me a couple of punches,” he said. “But I am okay.”

A garda spokesperson confirmed a man in his 30s was arrested earlier today following the alleged incident.

“Gardaí are investigating the assault of a man in his 70s that occurred at a property on Great Water Street at approximately 8:30am this morning.  

“A man in his 30s has been arrested in relation to this incident and is currently detained at Longford Garda station. Investigations are ongoing.”