August 31, 2010 9.17 am This story is over 163 months old

Axe man trashes the wrong council

With a grudge: A man went on an axe rampage at the City Hall, but later found he targeted the wrong council.

Update @ 9:17am on August 31 —

Daniel Seaman (28), of Birchwood, Lincoln, appeared at Lincoln Magistrates Court on August 30, where he admitted charges of criminal damage, affray, and punching a member of City of Lincoln Council staff in the face.

Seaman targeted the wrong council headquarters, as his intended target was the Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), according to The Lincolnshire Echo.

He reportedly had a grudge against the County Council, after he was abused while in care as a child. LCC is the local authority in charge of child and social care services.

Instead of going to the LCC offices on Newland Street, Seaman went on an axe rampage at the City Hall, the headquarters of the City of Lincoln Council, situated in very close proximity to LCC, on Orchard Street.

Seaman will be charged at Lincoln Crown Court in due course.

Original @ 3:49pm on August 27 —

A man with an axe threatened staff in the Property Shop area of the City Hall, and caused “significant damage” on the afternoon of Friday, August 27.

The 28-year-old man has now been arrested. The axe was also recovered at the scene. He is now in custody at Lincoln Police Station, where he will be questioned.

“No one was hurt in the incident, but we are now operating limited benefits and housing services,” said John Bibby from the City of Lincoln Council.

“We will return these services as soon as possible, but there may be a scaled down service at the beginning of next week, due to the extent of the damage.

“The council takes all possible steps to ensure the safety of its staff and members of the public using our buildings is maintained.

“It is difficult to prepare for something like this, but we will be looking at the situation and what lessons can be learnt from this incident.”

Sources: Lincolnshire Police, City of Lincoln Council | Related Reports: Lincolnshire Echo, BBC News