Travellers cause £100k worth of damage at brewery

UK brewery Thwaites has been left with £100,000 worth of damage and been forced to pour 1,700 pints of beer down the drain after a 100-strong group of travellers invaded its premise, smashed windows and urinated in its offices.

Some of the debris left at the brewery following the invasion. Credit @ThwaitesBrewery

The travellers forced their way into the family-run business in Blackburn, Lancashire, at around 8pm on Saturday and prevented staff from entering the premise, effectively evicting them from their own head office.

Following an “aggressive stand-off” with police, the group, which was accompanied by 21 caravans and 25 cars, were convinced to leave the site on Monday, but not before they had trashed the place and caused £100,000 worth of damage, the brewery has since confirmed.

The group are alleged to have not only damaged vehicles, but used the brewery’s offices as toilets, smashed windows and set off fire extinguishers, according to the BBC, with reports of theft also being investigated.

The brewery also said it had been forced to pour away 1,700 pints of beer over fears that it could have been contaminated.

Supt Andrea Barrow, of Lancashire Police, said: “When faced with incidents such as these Lancashire Constabulary considers all options available, which included working closely with brewery management to resolve the situation. In this case we negotiated with the travellers to encourage them to move, which they eventually did.

“We are continuing to work closely with the brewery and local partners and will seek to prosecute those involved in this mindless criminality.”

No arrests have as yet been made, but the force said it is investigating a “significant amount of damage” and thefts.

1700 pints down the drain because we just couldn’t take the chance after what happened over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/2PMB4tEgQB

— Thwaites Brewery (@ThwaitesBrewery) May 29, 2018