Bungling petrol bombers target family’s hotel
New owners shocked by failed attack during refurbishment
THE owners of a village hotel have spoken of their shock after the building was targeted in a failed petrol bomb attack.
Bungling thugs smashed a window at the Station Hotel in Insch, Aberdeenshire, leaving behind a five-litre container of fuel with a rag attached.
Luckily, the crude homemade petrol bomb didn’t catch fire.
No one was in the building, which is undergoing renovation after lying empty for seven years.
But Jackie Cruickshank, who hopes to re-open the business with husband Colin this summer, said the outcome could have been a lot worse.
Jackie, who has offered a reward for information that will help catch the perpetrators, said: “I really think their intention was to start a big fire, so it’s been a bit of a shock for our family.”
The couple’s son Aaron, 19, a joiner, has been doing a lot of the refurbishment at the hotel.
Jackie said: “Aaron is doing joinery work in the hotel and often works late. You just think that he could have been inside.
“We’ve been racking our brains to fathom what’s behind it. We don’t think that we’ve done anything to upset anyone.
“I was brought up in the village. Everybody in Insch is desperate to see the hotel open, so we can’t see how anybody would have a problem with it.”
Colin added: “We really want to transform the hotel into a great place for the people of Insch to meet up and socialise – which makes it all the more disgusting that someone has tried to burn it down.” Fire investigators and forensics experts were called following the incident, which is believed to have happened between 7.20pm on Monday and 7am on Tuesday. Officers have taken the Molotov cocktail away for analysis and are studying CCTV footage. Constable Lewis Moir said: “If anyone noticed anything suspicious in or around the area of Commercial Road, Insch, between these hours, please call police on 101.”