The headline in the Telegraph reads "Landlord let off charges for smashing up his own pub with JCB."
The story was also carried in most Local & National Newspapers
A few examples;
Daily STAR - "Landlord wrecked in his own boozer" (
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Daily Mail - "Owner demolished his own pub with a JCB" (
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METRO - "Landlord who demolished his own pub because he couldn’t get served is let off" (
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The Telegraph article text is shown below:
Police say they are powerless to charge Mark Swistun, 45, with wrecking seaside pub in the middle of the night
Mark Swistun uses a JCB digger to demolish the Royal Oak pub in Penclawdd, Gower.
A businessman who smashed up a pub with a JCB when he was refused a drink has been let off criminal charges - because he's the owner.
Furious Mark Swistun, 45, used the 28-ton digger to wreck the seaside pub in the middle of the night.
"At the end of the day the building belongs to him so he can do what he likes with it." Police source .
He was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to the Royal Oak pub in the Welsh fishing village of Penclawdd, Gower.
But police on Tuesday said they were powerless to charge him because he jointly owns the pub.
A police source said: "At the end of the day the building belongs to him so he can do what he likes with it.
"We would have needed someone to make an official complaint about the damage he caused.
"No one came forward to do that."
Wealthy shellfish factory owner Swistun invested £60,000 into the pub along with his business partner Colin McDonald, 59, just a year earlier.
Swistun put in staff to run it while he and his friends became regulars at the pub, near Swansea.
But locals said Swistun left the pub after being refused a drink after the 11pm closing time.
He returned at 1am at the controls of the huge yellow digger - causing an estimated £40,000 of damage in just a few minutes.
It steamrollered outdoor tables and umbrellas then crashed into the extension sending bricks and roofing tiles flying.
Swistun was arrested by South Wales Police on suspicion of criminal damage following the DIY demolition job on Sunday July 26.
But police confirmed he had been released without charge.
A local in the village said: "It was a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
"But I suppose the police couldn't charge him because he owns the pub and he can do what he wants with it."
Swistun was unavailable for comment on Tuesday. : Text Source: (
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