Bristol pubs and cars attacked by scythe vandal

A man armed with a garden scythe went on a rampage of destruction through south Bristol, smashing pub windows and car windscreens.

Three pubs were attacked in less than 20 minutes in Brislington. Thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused.

The man with the scythe was caught on CCTV and a suspect was arrested within hours of the attacks.

The first incident took place at 4.28am yesterday at The Pilgrim Inn in Hollywood Road.

A man walked along the street and smashed the windows of a car parked in the street before shattering seven windows at the pub nearby.

The double-glazed windows, made of toughened glass, will cost at least £1,500 to replace.

Landlord Brett Roland, aged 42, had taken over the pub just over a day earlier.

He was at his home on Allison Avenue when the man began smashing windows.

He said: "Me and my partner only took over the pub on Monday.

"I haven't even pulled a pint yet.

"I was born and bred here. This is my local.

"We were shut on Monday night because there were bits and pieces to do and we wanted to make sure everything was right before we opened and then this happened."

Mr Roland, who used to run a chain of pound shops before becoming a pub landlord, said the damage was a real setback.

At 4.41am the man with the scythe was caught on CCTV again, this time smashing windows at The Bloomfield Inn in Bloomfield Road.

Three cars parked outside were also damaged.

Landlord Steve Hayes, 50, said: "Windows in my Vectra, my brother-in-law's car and another car were smashed along with several windows of the pub.

"It will cost about £1,500 to replace them.

"This sort of vandalism is rare in Brislington, though this isn't unique."

The worst hit pub was The Sandringham in Sandy Park Road, where more than a dozen panes of glass on two sides of the building were smashed.

Landlord David Lewis, 46, was asleep upstairs in the pub when the man with the scythe struck at about 4.45am.

He said: "I was woken by the sound of somebody trying to kick in the door. Then the windows were smashed.

"I came down to investigate but he had gone by then.

"I've got a good idea who it was."

● A 38-year-old man was arrested in connection with the damage and was due to appear before magistrates today.