Image: Hertfordshire Constabulary
A construction worker who destroyed five newly built McCarthy and Stone homes with a digger in a row over wages has been jailed.
Daniel Neagu, 31, of Athelstone Road in Harrow, north west London, admitted criminal damage to the homes in the Royal Gardens development in Buntingford, Hertfordshire, on 11 August.
Daniel Neagu
His actions also caused damage to the machine itself, which cost more than £50,000.
Former plant operator Neagu had been working at the site before he was dismissed alongside several colleagues a few weeks prior to the incident.
Neagu, who filmed himself as he demolished the properties, was sentenced to four years in prison.
Detective constable Shaun Turner, from the East Herts Local Crime Unit, said: “Three three-bedroom properties and two two-bedroom properties were affected by Neagu’s deliberate act of destruction, with the total cost of the damage estimated to be in the region of £4m.
“The incident had a lasting impact on the local community as a number of the properties were nearing completion and their new owners were weeks away from moving in.
"However after assessment, the structural damage was deemed to be too severe so the affected properties had to be demolished and rebuilt, which took months.”
Image: Hertfordshire Constabulary
