Disgruntled Former Mercedes Employee Steals JCB And Goes On £4.5 Million Damage Spree

A disgruntled former Mercedes Benz worker has been arrested over a wrecking spree at a company plant in Spain, which is estimated to have caused up to €5 million (£4.45m/$6m) worth of damage.

The former car factory worker damaged vans including high-end V class vehicles, which were worth nearly £90,000, along with a number of electric Vitos.

The unnamed 38-year-old man allegedly damaged up to 69 brand new Mercedes vans using a stolen JCB that he'd driven nearly 20 miles to the premises in the Basque capital Vitoria.

According to local reports, the suspect's crazed attack was so extreme that a security guard on the site had to fire a warning shot into the air while waiting for police to arrive.

Photos show the extensive damage to various vehicles, many of which now have completely crushed parts.

Another image shows a gate from the site lying on the ground.

Police said the man had worked at the Mercedes Benz factory between 2016 and 2017, and that they were currently investigating the incident.

The furious onslaught had been a work-related revenge attack, police said, which took place in the early hours of Thursday morning (31 December).

The worker had taken a JCB from a construction firm on an industrial estate in Legutiano, located 18 miles away from the Mercedes factory.

Police said the man had also caused other damage while travelling from the industrial estate in the JCB to the Mercedes site.

A spokesman for the Erzaintza regional police put the number of vehicles damaged at around 50, although local reports said they numbered 69.

The spokesman said: "Officers in Vitoria have arrested a man aged 38 who stole a JCB from one firm and smashed it into 50 parked vehicles in another.

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"During the journey between the two sites, he caused other damage.

"Police arrived at the scene of the damage to find the man at the wheel of the JCB smashing into the parked vehicles.

"He was held on suspicion of causing criminal damage."

LADbible has reached out to Mercedes for comment.

Topics: World News, News, Spain, Cars

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman