A garda in Louth whose car was set alight outside her home had to pay for the damage of her car out of her private insurance and was refused funding for security cameras by headquarters.

The arson, which occurred last year,  follows a pattern of attacks on garda homes and property in the Border region for reasons connected to their work.

The third such attack in Louth in 18 months occurred last week when the home of another garda was set alight in a housing estate.

The garda lived with his pregnant wife and two young children. The family escaped unharmed, but the house was significantly damaged.

As well as the emotional and psychological trauma, the attacks on garda property could also leave them facing financial fallout, the Garda Representative Association said last night.

Friends of the garda victim of the earlier attack last year described how she had finished her night shift and returned home to sleep. She was woken by her housemate at 5am to be told that her car was on fire in the driveway.

A neighbour with a fire extinguisher managed to put out the blaze before it spread to two other cars in the driveway.

“The culprits left a second glass bottle with petrol behind. It transpired they were disturbed by the milkman doing his delivery,” the friend said. The garda, who returned to her work the following day,  believes she was targeted because of her work. She was served with a garda information message that her life was at risk over the following days.