Demolition mechanic who boasted of involvement in civil unrest outed on social networks.
A demolition mechanic from Hampshire-based R. Collard Ltd who boasted on his Facebook account that he had stolen televisions during the riots in south London was outed by angry users of social networking sites.
John Briggs, who now denies taking part in the looting, wrote on his Facebook page: “Had a good night in croyden [sic] last night got me a couple of tvs and a blur ray DVD player.” He later added: “52inch 3G tv for sale you want to buy one.”
Mr Briggs is believed to have written the message as a “practical joke” but his comments had attracted the attention of angry Twitter users who immediately launched an online campaign to find him.
Within hours of it appearing messages were posted, included one from juanjuego saying: “I wonder if R Collard (where John Briggs works as a mechanic) are going to sack him or risk losing all their business.”
But it appears that his boss – demolition man and motor racing star Robert Collard – is standing by his man. “He is a young employee who has worked for me for a number of years,” Collard says. “He put it on his Facebook as a practical joke. He comes from a quiet village in Hampshire. I doubt he has ever even been to Croydon.”
Read more here.
