Lidl Ireland has said that it has placed plans to increase the size of a store on Fortunestown Lane, Dublin, ‘under review’, following a bizarre attack last weekend, which saw criminals hijack a JCB excavator and proceed to tear the roof off the store.
In a statement, Lidl said that it ‘had been our intention’ to develop a new larger store on the site, however it may now be reconsidering these proposals.
‘We currently have engineers and consultants on site assessing the significant damage caused to the building and we will await their recommendations before making a final decision regarding future plans,’ it said.
Looting was also reported to have taken place at the store, which is located in the Tallaght suburb of the Irish capital, with Twitter users capturing the incident as it unfolded.
Two Garda guarding the scene where the Fortunestown Ln Lidl in Tallaght was torn down by vandals with a JCB, may have been stolen from nearby building site where housing is being constructed. #lidl #tallaght #dublin #StormEmma #BeastFromTheEastireland #BeastFromTheEast pic.twitter.com/OusDw5ZiFw
— Chai Brady (@ChaiBradyIC) March 2, 2018
The JCB excavator used in the incident had been used to clear snow in the area, and was reported stolen.
Serious Incident
“We are aware of the very serious incident at our Fortunestown Lane store yesterday evening,” a Lidl spokesperson told ESM on Saturday.
“As the store was closed when the incident occurred, we can confirm no member of our team has been injured.”
The spokesperson added that “given that the incident is now the subject of a criminal investigation we are not in a position to comment further at this time.”
A well-known criminal gang are believed to be behind the attack, in which the store’s safe was stolen.
‘Wrong And Scary’
Commenting in the wake of the incident, Senator Lynn Ruane, who hails from Tallaght, a traditional working class area, said that the incident was “very wrong and scary for a lot of people”, and condemned the negative response from many on social media.
What happened tonight was very wrong and scary for a lot people. Most from Tallaght sit at home upset, angry and watch as they become the subject of ridicule and labels. Tallaght has a population 100,000 people. The majority of them on front of the fire or having fun in the snow.
— Senator Lynn Ruane (@SenLynnRuane) March 3, 2018
A statement by the Gardaí, the Irish police force, added “Following reports of burglary and theft of vehicles, Garda units deployed in the Tallaght District and nine arrests were made to date.
"Substantial damage was caused to a supermarket on Fortunestown lane and further damage to another premises in Jobstown. All those arrested are currently detained at Dublin Garda Stations.”
Lidl did prove they had something of a sense of humour about the whole affair, sending a Tweet on Monday that asked, 'So err... did anyone do anything nice over the weekend?'
So err... anyone do anything nice over the weekend?
— Lidl Ireland (@lidl_ireland) March 5, 2018
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
