A plucky Irish grandmother has been hailed a hero after she locked thieves in a barn while she called the police for help.

Ann Curtis (64) said her "hands were shaking" when she padlocked a gate, trapping three thieves inside, who were yelling abuse at her.

The incident occurred shortly after 4:15 pm on Tuesday when Curtis noticed three occupants of a car acting suspiciously near the family farm, in the town land of Clegg, near Nobber in Co Meath, reports the Irish Independent.

When her five grandchildren noticed their car had disappeared into their yard, the courageous grandmother told them to lock themselves inside the house.

She said: "I drove up to the yard and saw the three loading up tools and wheels of a jeep into their car.

"I parked a bit away and asked them what they were doing. When they started giving me cheek, I reversed really fast, got out of the car and managed to get the iron entrance gate closed and padlocked. My hands were shaking."

She continued: "The men got very agitated and started to call me names. They said they weren't stealing anything. I told them that if they calmed down, I'd go back to the house to get the key. However, I went home and called for help."

When her daughter Marie Stewart arrived on the scene the men were trying to ram the gate to escape. Stewart drove her 4x4 in front of the gate and soon other neighbors arrived on the scene to help before the police arrived.

Stewart said: "The grandchildren were terrified.

"Everyone here is hailing mum as a hero. They think she's brilliant. Everything happened so fast and adrenaline was so high that we didn't think of the dangers."

Police confirmed the three men were arrested and charged with alleged trespassing in relation to the incident.