Bungling pro-Palestine activists daub 'child killer' on lorries as they attack wrong firm

Pro-Palestine activists caused £20,000 to a family-run Glossop steel firm in an attack during the early hours of the morning.

Activists sprayed red paint over the walls of High Peak Steels, on the Brookfield industrial estate.

The masked vandals also daubed the slogan ‘Child Killers’ on lorries owned by the firm.

But Mark Thornley, boss of the 40-year-old family firm which employs more than 30 staff, says the protesters have mistaken his firm for one which supplies metal to be used to make Israeli drones.

The day before the attack on his premises, a High Peak Steels lorry delivered to a firm in Staffordshire next to a company called Elbit, which does help produce drone engines.

Mr Thornley said: “There was a protest outside Elbit and they must have thought our wagons were delivering there.

“We provide steel to factories and the agricultural industry and have nothing to do with making drone engines.

“These people put two and two together and made five and it’s going to cost us more than £20,000 to put things right.”

Not content with painting walls and vehicles, the protesters also poured bleach into the fuel tanks of parked trucks.

“We had to drain and clean the tanks before the wagons could go out,” said Mr Thornley.

“We are a local family business and all our employees come from the Glossop and Tameside areas.

“We have nothing to do with making weapons. We supply to the defence industry, but only for the Ministry of Defence.

“We’ve reviewed the video evidence of the attack and they used something like a fire extinguisher filled with red paint to do the majority of the damage.

“We’ve cleared most of it up, but you can still see some of the graffiti and more clean-up work will need to be done.

“If they had done a bit of research, they would have realised they had targeted the wrong business.

“We supply steel injection materials which are used in gears etc.

“This has caused a lot of trouble and cost us a lot of money and for what... a gesture which has backfired because they picked the wrong company.”

In a statement, Mr Thornley added: “Our company was the victim of mistaken identity by a political group who broke into our yard, daubed red paint across our premises and damaged two delivery wagons with spray paint. They also put bleach into the wagons’ fuel and exhaust management systems.

“Our premises were attacked the day after one of our wagons had delivered to a client, which is based next to a specialist manufacturing firm, making military grade weapons. Protesters were gathered outside the manufacturer’s premises, and it appears that they mistook our firm as a supplier to the weapons manufacturer. The day after, our firm was attacked overnight, in what we believe was a misplaced endeavour.”

“This has been an expensive incident and has been costly in terms of repairing vehicles and repainting our roller doors and building, damaged by paint. The vandalism also had serious potential consequences. By damaging our engines with bleach, this incident could have had the capacity to injure, or perhaps even kill other road users and pedestrians.”

“High Peak Steels is a family firm which has been established for almost 40 years. We are a strong local employer and contribute to the wider business economy and social causes.

“We have worked vigorously to repair our premises and vehicles and are cooperating fully with the police with their enquiries. 

“We are angered that we have been the victims of mistaken identity in this attack. It has  proved costly in terms of repairs to our vehicles and premises. It has also temporarily affected the continuity of our business operations. However, we are a resilient business and have come through this unnecessary experience. We have moved quickly to trade as normal and thank our clients for their understanding and support.”

“Our MP Robert Largan MP has become involved and has openly criticised those responsible for this attack.

“We already have extensive security provision at our premises, which the attackers managed to circumvent. We have since installed further overt and covert security measures.”