Men cause £1,000 of damage to hotel suite

The two men, who were in their 20s, checked in to the hotel, in Marshfield Road, Chippenham, on December 4.

They were driving a small, white Renault van and paid their bill before checking out shortly after 8am the following morning.

About 20 minutes later, guest Ted Whitlock, 42, said he heard water leaking through the ceiling in the hallway.

Rodney Haines, the hotel's assistant manager, found the leak coming from a cistern in room 11, above the hallway.

The men had smashed a hole through the two-inch thick ceramic of the cistern and water was gushing over the carpet.

A length of cloth had been placed near the leak to muffle the flow of water until the men had left.

Mr Haines said he had been sleeping next door to the room but had heard nothing.

"I am amazed they did not make a noise, because it must have taken some force to smash the cistern," he said.

Kewel Rama, who has owned the hotel for seven years, estimated that £1,000 worth of damage has been done.

"Lighting has been damaged and the fax machine isn't working and we are having trouble with the Sky television transmission," he said.

However, he plans to have the room, a twin suite, available again by the end of the weekend.

The men left a mobile telephone number, but Mr Rama has not been able to receive a reply from it. Police have checked number plates on the men's van, but they had not been recognised.

Mr Haines said that the men told him they had been staying at another hotel in Chippenham the previous night but had not liked it.

"The men said they were doing up a house in Swindon," he said.

"They said they were from Blackpool. They were in the bar, played pool and went out into town, but we weren't concerned about them. They said they would be down again in two weeks, but we certainly don't expect to see them now."

Anyone with information on the men is urged to call Chippenham police on (01249) 654455.