Police release video of digger being deliberately rammed into Grade II-listed village pub near Doncaster

Police have released CCTV of a stolen digger being deliberately driven into the walls of a Grade II-listed village pub – leaving huge holes in the 18th-century building.
Grace Newton
By Grace Newton
Published 13th Nov 2023, 11:30 BST
Updated 13th Nov 2023, 11:30 BST

Although the incident at The Mucky Duck in Drakeholes, near Bawtry on the South Yorkshire-Nottinghamshire border, happened six weeks ago, Nottinghamshire Police have only just made the footage public in the hope of catching the vandal.

The telehandler was stolen from the nearby village of Clayworth on September 27 before the act of destruction was caught on the camera. The pub, which occupies a commanding crossroads location, was undergoing renovation at the time.

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The coaching inn, formerly The White Swan, re-opened under the ownership of Jayne and Harriet Bolland in 2021, and began trading again this week after repair work.

The coaching inn was built in the 1770s to serve the canal and was renamed The Mucky Duck in 2021The coaching inn was built in the 1770s to serve the canal and was renamed The Mucky Duck in 2021
The coaching inn was built in the 1770s to serve the canal and was renamed The Mucky Duck in 2021

Detective Constable India Woodrow, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We hope this footage, which has not been released by the force previously, will help with our investigation into this incident.

“The raid caused a considerable amount of damage to a well-known business and local landmark in the north Bassetlaw area. We are determined to get justice for the owners of the business and track down those responsible.

“We particularly want to hear from anyone who is aware of an individual showing a recent interest in the pub, its owners or its renovation.

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"This is a small, tight-knit community and we believe there are local people who could hold vital information which could help with our investigation.”

Anyone with information which could help investigators with their inquiries should contact Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 815 of 27 September 2023.

The inn dates from the 1770s, when the Acklom family of nearby Wiseton Hall built it to serve coach traffic bound for the Chesterfield Canal wharf nearby. Royal Mail coaches between Louth and Sheffield called there. In 1885 it was called The Drakeholes Inn, and by 1900 its name had changed to The Swan. It was always known locally as ‘the Mucky Duck’ and it was rebuilt in the 1980s after a long closure.

It was sold in 1998 and again in 2014, 2016 and 2019, and it was closed between 2015 and 2021.