by Kyle Molyneux | Wed 26 Feb 2020
Digger operator jailed
A digger operator has been jailed for five years and four months for causing over £400,000 worth of damage to a Travelodge on Liverpool’s Edge Lane.
John Manley of Netherton, Merseyside had been working on the hotel’s renovation but his relationship with his employer soured after they’d failed to pay his £600 wages over the Christmas holiday period. In January 2019, Manley took matters into his own hands, jumping into a mini-excavator and ploughing his way into the hotel’s reception area, destroying the doorway and windows before targeting the hotel’s ceiling and wiring. Making matters worse, the renovation work had been completed that day and the site manager was preparing for the handover.
Handing out his sentence, Judge David Aubrey QC said Manley was “intent on maximum damage and intended to leave a trail of destruction.” He also highlighted how Manley’s actions had put others in the building at risk of serious harm.
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