Man arrested over digger destruction of Liverpool Travelodge
A man has been arrested on criminal damage charges after a digger ploughed through the front of a brand new Travelodge and smashed the interior of the building.
The destruction at Liverpool Innovation Park on January 21, video of which was widely shared on social media at the time, was allegedly over a pay dispute said to involve £600.
Merseyside Police confirmed a 35 year-old man from the Netherton had been "arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage with intent to endanger life".
The man was also arrested on suspicion of assault in relation to a separate incident in Broadgreen.
It is believed thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused by the digger at the new hotel on Edge Lane in Liverpool, which was due to be completed that day.
"The handover was today, everything completed, we’d put the last tile in, cleaned up and made sure everything was perfect," ceiling fixer Samuel White, 24, told the Press Association at the time.
"Then some idiot in a mini digger decided to drive through the middle of the building."
He said the destruction, which started shortly before 3pm, went on for “a good 20 or 30 minutes” before the driver left the vehicle and ran off.
"There were loads of workers outside all gobsmacked, jaws to the floor wondering what’s going on," said Mr White.
"The site manager was running around like a headless chicken, he wasn’t happy at all."