Police chief: Thwaites wreckers will face justice

Chief Constable Andy Rhodes has come under fire for his force’s response to 100 travellers arriving at the Thwaites site in Penny Street and laying waste to the offices and brewery.

Police secured the site after escorting the travellers away from Blackburn and onto the M65, leaving Thwaites bosses furious and unable to brew beer, potentially bringing 211 years of brewing ale on the site to an abrupt end.

Thwaites have had to ditch 1,700 pints and are still assessing the damage.

But Mr Rhodes said those responsible will not escape the long arm of the law and that the weekend was one of “unprecedented demand.”

He said: “We are gathering evidence and seeing what criminal damage has been caused, but we can reassure the public that those responsible will not escape justice.

“The next time some of those people return to Lancashire, it will be in handcuffs and they will be dealt with and made to pay for what they have done.

“I can fully understand the public’s reaction and what has been said. But over the weekend we had an unprecedented demand due to the weather and a number of other incidents.

“We had a lot of officers looking for a mental health patient who had escaped with a knife and was a danger to himself and the public. We caught him but we had to find him, and quickly.

“We had to use our resources accordingly and that’s what we did. We had to cut our cloth to react to the situations we faced and I stand by the decisions that we made.

“Logistically, we can’t just lock up 100 people. We don’t know who had done what because we don’t have the evidence.

“But we are investigating and myself and the officers are determined to bring those people to justice.

“I’ve been in Blackburn and spoken to the staff and they are just as hacked off as anyone else. No bobby goes into work not wanting to arrest people who do bad things.

“The Blackburn force is determined to make sure the people who carried out this criminal act pay for it.

“They may think they have have got away with it. But the arm of the law is very long and we will make arrests.”

Andrew Buchanan, Thwaites’ director of pubs and brewing, slammed the force for its response.

The brewery, which produces almost 900,000 pints a year from the Penny Street site, is set to move to a new HQ in Mellor Brook in August bring to an end a brewing legacy that started with Daniel Thwaites in 1807.

Since the weekend, staff have been clearing up and some office functions have resumed, but power is still being reconnected.

The firm has also beefed up security by having huge concrete blocks placed at all entrances to the site.

But the brewery appears to have suffered the most damage and looks to be out of action for good.

Plans for the chairman, Ann Yerburgh, a fifth-generation member of the Thwaites family, to be present when the last brew is produced, may now be cancelled.

Mr Buchanan said: “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.

“The feelings are of disappointment, turning to frustration and then turning to anger.

“The most galling thing is that they seem to have got away scot-free. They were escorted by two police cars in a convoy up to the M65. They had caught them red-handed.

“If I broke into an office, turned the place over and trashed the place, I would expect to be arrested, convicted and prosecuted.

“It’s not so simple to do it with 100 people but 100 people did this to our offices and the police may have thought it was too many to tackle.

“To be fair to the police who came down, they will have only acted in line with the strategy that has been established by Lancashire Police to deal with travellers occupying land and premises.

“The bobbies that were here did what they were asked to do.

“On Monday, I escorted a sergeant around the offices and brewery to show him the devastation. He was absolutely aware of the damage and the criminality committed.

“He was in contact with the inspector who was in contact with Andy Rhodes. They knew what had gone on. They negotiated with the travellers to leave the site.

“They didn’t arrest anyone, they negotiated and facilitated their safe departure and escorted them to the motorway.

“Arrest is only one part. Arrest is all well and good, but what about conviction? What about sentence?

“What’s going to happen when they do it again?

“I know the police have to take a view about their safety and wellbeing but you can counter that with manpower and equipment that they chose not to deploy.”

Mr Buchanan praised the staff who have been clearing up, but lamented the possibility that Penny Street may have brewed its last beer.

He said: “The guys have done a really good job. We have got some office function and some of the staff are across the road in the training centre, so we are getting back to some sort of normality but we certainly can’t brew.

“The brewers are in clean-up mode but it’s just hugely disappointing. We have alternative plans in place to get beer to our pubs, so for a customer and a commercial perspective it’s business as usual. Our pubs won’t run dry.

“But for the staff and the brewers, we may have been robbed of the chance to see off that last brew.

“It’s fair to say that the brewers are gutted. It would have been a great way to sign off from the site but it might mean that we have accelerate the move to Mellor sooner than we originally planned in August.

“We produce about 3,000 barrels a year from Blackburn, 864,000 pints a year, for the last three years so it’s a very active site.

“The move to Mellor is a very positive one and it will safeguard the long-term future of the business, but this is not the way we wanted to leave.

“We have 211 years of history, brewing beer is in our DNA. The brewers and staff have been talking about seeing that last brew off and pouring that last pint.

“But moreover, they have had their workspace invaded and their lockers searched and personal items taken.

“But there has been a tremendous amount of damage done to the electricity supply as they (the travellers) have ripped out copper wire in the transformer room.

“It may not be possible to fix the damage and reconnect the power before we are due to move.

“We have an alternative beer supply and the costs are recoverable but they aren’t at the front of our minds. But it’s the sentiment and the history and may not be able to see off that last brew.

“We won’t let this taint our memories. There has been 211 years of good memories.

“This weekend has been a huge disappointment, but it won’t tarnish 211 years of success and fantastic contribution to the local community.”