Sacked digger driver takes his revenge by ripping up new road

A DIGGER driver caused £100,000 damage by ripping up a road he had laid himself after he was sacked by text message.

Rory Doyle, an agency worker, returned to Chivenor Cross in north Devon the day after being dismissed and used a spare key to start up a digger. He caused £101,429 damage, demolishing lamp posts and digging up drains.

At Exeter Crown Court, the 41-yearold, from Torquay, admitted causing criminal damage to road surfaces, kerb stones and utilities.

Mrs Justice May heard that Doyle had committed similar incidents against employers in 2009 and 2013, when he was given restorative justice. Caroline Bolt, prosecuting, said Doyle had been employed as a road worker on the site, which was being prepared for housing. On March 31 last year, she said he was in a “bad mood” and making frequent visits to the site office. Doyle said his foreman was bullying him and paying him less. He told a colleague: “If it is not sorted out by the end of the week, I swear blind I will tear the place up.”

Miss Bolt said Doyle was sacked on April 1 when he was sent a text message after he left the site. After the weekend staff returned and found a digger had been used to cause the damage.

The judge said: “This was not momentary rage but a sustained ploughing up of work at that site. You went on a spree of damage that weekend.”

She said Doyle had planned his revenge and the high value of damage justified custody, but suspended it after he admitted what he had done.

Doyle received an 18-month jail term, suspended for two years, and a five-month night-time curfew, 120 hours of unpaid work and a 20-day activity requirement. He was also ordered to pay £2,500 compensation from his wages in his latest job, again as a digger driver.

In defence, Greg Richardson said Doyle was a hard worker and regretted “letting his anger get out of control”.