The Royal Oak pub on Liverpool Road in Aughton, West Lancashire, has reported that two individuals vandalised the premises. The venue confirmed that nobody was hurt, but the incident caused “considerable disruption and inconvenience to our team and our customers”.
Attack at a recently renovated pub
The pub recently received an investment of £667,000, transforming it into a “top-quality family and dog friendly traditional village inn offering great quality pub food”. The funds were used to completely overhaul the Heineken-owned pub inside and out, including adding an extension to increase the pub's dining capacity.
On August 24, The Royal Oak shared several videos and CCTV footage on Instagram documenting the attack by two individuals. The footage highlighted the extent of the damage, including the smashing of the majority of the ground-floor windows, which occurred while the venue was closed.
Owner’s response and police investigation
A spokesperson for the venue said they are “extremely disappointed and shocked by the targeted vandalism”, and the case is being investigated by the local authorities.
The Royal Oak said: “As a local, independent, family-run business, incidents like this have a significant impact. Beyond the financial cost, they cause considerable disruption and inconvenience to our team and our customers. We have invested a huge amount of time, effort and money into bringing The Royal Oak back to life and creating somewhere the local community can enjoy, so it is incredibly disappointing that someone would choose to cause deliberate damage to a brand-new business simply trying to improve the venue and contribute positively to the area.”
Reopening and appeal for information
Thankfully, nobody was hurt during the incident, and all of the damaged windows have now been replaced. The Royal Oak reopened as normal and shared the CCTV footage in the hope that somebody may have information that could assist.
The pub added: “If you witnessed anything, recognise anything from the footage, or have any information that may help with the investigation, please contact us privately or report it directly to the police. Thank you, as always, for the continued support from our customers and the local community.” Lancashire Police told the ECHO that the incident has been reported and enquiries are ongoing.
