POLICE investigating the damage caused to a historic brewery by Travellers over the spring Bank Holiday weekend have arrested six people.
Lancashire Police have said the arrests – five men and a teenager – are the latest stage of an ongoing investigation.
At the time of the incident police faced criticism for not making any arrests and for ‘negotiating’ with the group to ‘encourage’ them to leave.
Aggressive Standoff
Staff at Thwaites Brewery in Lancashire turned up to work on Monday, May 28 to find the site occupied by a group of around 100 Travellers in 21 caravans and 25 other vehicles.
The group had gained access to the site the previous Saturday.
A Thwaites spokesman said staff had been 'evicted' during an 'aggressive standoff'.
(Image: Thwaites Brewery)The group left on the Monday evening after police intervention.
No arrests were made at the time, with Thwaites’ Andrew Buchanan saying: “It was a completely senseless act and it could have been brought to a close sooner if senior police officers had taken action earlier. But they decided that they wouldn’t.”
Chief Constable Andy Rhodes apologised for not acting sooner and vowed arrests would be made.
Dawn Raids
On Tuesday morning, the six were arrested following dawn raids at an address in Leverhulme, Bolton as part of a pre-planned operation.
A 32-year-old man, two-21-year-old men and a 16-year-old were arrested on suspicion of burglary.
A 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and blackmail while a 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and shoplifting.
(Image: Lancashire Police)They were all placed in police custody.
Assistant Chief Constable Jo Edwards said: “We have had a dedicated team of officers working hard behind the scenes to identify those responsible for causing these unacceptable criminal acts and this morning’s activity is just the latest stage in our on-going investigation.
“We continue to work closely with Thwaites Brewery and we have updated them with this morning’s activity.
(Image: Lancashire Police)“I would like to remind people that we generally have good relationships with the travelling community and the level of destruction and damage caused to the Thwaites site is not reflective of the behaviour of the majority of travellers.”
After the Travellers left, Thwaites had to dispose of 1,700 pints they feared could have been contaminated.
Thwaites had brewed beer at the site for over 200 years but production will now move to a new site, which is due to open August.
The company estimated that £100,000 of damage was done to the premises.
