Telford company hit by vandals causing £200,000 damage criticise 'troubling' police response
A company says hundreds of thousands of pounds in damage has been caused by people occupying its site in Telford.
Branded Garden Products says that break-ins and occupancies by travellers at its building at Hortonwood have cost the company £200,000 in stolen goods and damage.
And its bosses are critical of what they called a lack of action by West Mercia Police.
The company has made an official complaint to the force.
"We feel compelled to express our deep concern over the apparent lack of enforcement of the law by the local police. The re-repeated incidents of theft and damage, totalling over £200,000, have left our business in a state of immense distress and frustration."
The company said there was a "troubling lack of action" from police in removing or prosecuting the trespassers.
"The police need to take appropriate action in line with the law and restore a sense of security to our business community," a company spokesperson said.
"As it stands we are totally powerless to defend our property from repeated attacks and even greater damage."
In an official complaint to West Mercia Police the company said that its security staff reported the presence of travellers on August 22.
"The police attended site, but no action was taken," the complaint says.
Police returned on August 24.
"We contacted the council to request help with removal process. They attended site to issue a notice to quit, along with the police, who gained access at this stage by forcing entry themselves. When the council and police entered site, they saw the travellers had gained access inside the building via a fire door which had been extensively damaged but they still didn’t take any action against the travellers or notify us of the damage they had found.
"The travellers left site August 29. They have caused considerable damage to the property, have stolen electrical cables and left debris, human excrement and rubbish throughout the outside space and have caused malicious damage inside."
A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "We are sorry if anyone feels they have not received the service from us they would expect.
"We can confirm we have received a formal complaint in relation to this matter and are looking into this, therefore it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this stage. However, will do so when we are able to."
