--- title: Man Exacts Runs Digger Through Travelodge After Pay Dispute description: Never stiff a man with access to heavy machinery canonical: https://time.com/5509643/man-lobby/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-22T18:48:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:57:02.773Z og:title: Man Exacts Revenge By Running Digger Through Hotel Lobby og:description: Never stiff a man with access to heavy machinery og:url: https://time.com/5509643/man-lobby/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45520e6d536b93da/698943be7cdbac3655d5eec3/hotellobby.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 7952 og:image:height: 4473 og:image:alt: Hotel service bell on a table white glass and simulation hotel background. Concept hotel, travel, room"n og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Man Exacts Revenge By Running Digger Through Hotel Lobby twitter:description: Never stiff a man with access to heavy machinery twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45520e6d536b93da/698943be7cdbac3655d5eec3/hotellobby.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Man Exacts Revenge on a Hotel By Running a Digger Through Lobby That Had It Coming > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jan 22, 2019 6:48 PM UTC  Hotel service bell on a table white glass and simulation hotel background. Concept hotel, travel, room"n Hotel service bell on a table white glass and simulation hotel background. Concept hotel, travel, room"n Witthaya Prasongsin;Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jan 22, 2019 6:48 PM UTC Police are looking for answers after a man drove a mini excavator through the front door of a Travelodge in Liverpool, [England](http://time.com/5504183/no-deal-brexit-food-medicine-stockpiling/) in what was reportedly a fight over [unpaid wages](http://time.com/5508764/tsa-shutdown-airports/). The incident, which was captured on [video](http://time.com/4018384/pregnant-french-woman-video-australia/), occurred at the Liverpool Innovation Park on Monday afternoon. Construction workers still working at the site were “gobsmacked” when “some idiot in a mini digger” plowed through the door and lobby of the nearly finished hotel, according to a witness who [spoke to the Press Association](https://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/national/17374515.man-on-digger-smashes-up-new-travelodge-on-day-of-completion/), as [reported by the BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-46953987). The dramatic video shows the orange digger plowing through the facade, knocking out the glass doors, and ripping down the frame. Luckily no one was seriously hurt in the melee, which went on for “a good 20 or 30 minute”, although, [according to a police report](http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/merseyside-police/news/appeal-following-incident-at-liverpool-innovation-park-354094), one man was treated for eye irritation caused by exposure to diesel. In [another video](https://twitter.com/dickturpin76/status/1087427198196293635) of the incident, taken from a different angle, the person driving the digger appears to be yelling, “All you had to do was pay me my f—ing £600!” The driver abandoned the vehicle and made off on foot, as seen in [another video](https://twitter.com/sumsECFC/status/1087498491704807426), but police have tracked him down and plan to interview him. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5509643/man-lobby/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5509643/man-lobby/"},"headline":"Man Exacts Revenge on a Hotel By Running a Digger Through Lobby That Had It Coming","datePublished":"2019-01-22T18:48:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:57:02.773Z","description":"Never stiff a man with access to heavy machinery","url":"https://time.com/5509643/man-lobby/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Viral Videos","crimes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45520e6d536b93da/698943be7cdbac3655d5eec3/hotellobby.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45520e6d536b93da/698943be7cdbac3655d5eec3/hotellobby.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hotel service bell on a table white glass and simulation hotel background. 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