Blogger feels townsfolks' wrath after 'sh*thole' rant

13 April 2012

When shop manager Steve Beall was dispatched to an unfamiliar town far from home, he felt an understandable urge to moan about his plight.

Foolishly, however, he chose to post his comments branding the port of Barrow-in-Furness a "s**thole" on a website, and within hours he was learning the hard way the power of the Internet.

As word of his unkind description spread, aggrieved townsfolk began besieging the branch of Thorntons where he worked, and eventually police were called and the unfortunate Mr Beall escorted out of town.

Now, in a desperate bid to rebuild bridges, the chief executive of the chain is offering all shoppers there free chocolates until Christmas.

Twenty-year-old Mr Beall had been appointed manager of the cafe at Thorntons' newly-opened Barrow store, moving from his home in Whitley Bay, Tyneside to the opposite coast and staying in a Travelodge.

He quickly made his feelings about the industrial town clear in a diary posted on the social networking site MySpace, writing: "Well then what is there to say about Barrow in Furness apart from its a s**t hole!!"

His childishly-misspelt "blog" continued: "How the hell people live there i never no [sic]. Its very rough, give me Newcastle any day and staying in a travel lodge by yourself for over a week is very boring!"

Mr Beall's first impressions might never have attracted interest beyond his friends had he not also posted the fateful words: "I am the manager of the new Thorntons. I'm so stressed and need to drink."

His candid comments were picked up by a local newspaper, and it quickly became clear he had well and truly put his foot in it.

It began with threats of a boycott, with hotelier John Swindell among the aggrieved locals speaking out.

"I am very, very fond of Thorntons products, but I would not feel comfortable using the store while he is there," he said. "The people of Barrow are warm, friendly, lovely people, I have found. As a businessman who's been welcomed into the town I feel he does not know what he's talking about."

Matters soon went from bad to worse as for four hours, furious townsfolk started marching in and demanding the opportunity to give Mr Beall a piece of their minds.

Police were called as tempers flared and the store's locally-born staff began to fear for their safety.

One, Trisha Smith, made her own posting on MySpace, complaining: "We have had to deal with abuse all day and threats from people who saw the story."

She added that a male colleague who had been mistaken for Mr Beall had been reduced to "a nervous wreck".

The cafe had to close while police spoke to his bosses about how to defuse the situation.

It turned out the man at the centre of the storm was not actually there - he was lying low at his hotel from where he was retrieved and sent packing.

Before the protest, Mr Beall had insisted his opinion of the town had improved. "I have changed my mind about Barrow now," he said. "It's not as bad as I thought it was. I still hate it because it's not home but I promise I'll put a nicer post on MySpace."

Although the postings were removed, the ensuing siege put paid to his efforts to save his job, and he has not been seen since.

Now Thorntons chief executive Mike Davies has issued a grovelling apology and pledged that Mr Beall would not be returning.

"On behalf of Thorntons I would like to apologise for the disparaging comments made by one of our employees about the town of Barrow-in-Furness," he said.

"These comments do not reflect the company's views or those of its other employees. As a gesture of goodwill, anybody visiting our store until Christmas will receive a free chocolate." Cumbria Police confirmed the situation had been resolved. "The area manager has confirmed the manager who made the inappropriate and tactless comments which were posted on the Internet and reported in the local press will not be returning to the store," said a spokesman.

"The staff in there are born and bred Barrovians and were most concerned."

Mr Beall is not the first to receive a painful reminder of quite how powerful the Internet is, and he probably won't be the last. Last year City solicitor Richard Phillips had an email he sent demanding that a secretary who split tomato ketchup on his trousers pay his £4 dry cleaning bill forwarded throughout London's legal community.

And jilted boyfriend Paul Clarke, 26, put explicit photographs of his ex-girlfriend Cara Whitehouse on a website and circulated the address amongst her friends, only to find himself in court charged with harassment. He was jailed for three months.

Text of MySpace postings by Steve Beall, manager of Thorntons Cafe, Barrow-in-Furness:

"Stevo"

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Barrow Current mood: stressed

Well then what is there to say about Barrow in Furness apart from its a s**t hole!! How the hell people live there i never no. Its very rough give me Newcastle any day and staying in a travel lodge by yourself for over a week is very boring! The 1st day i was there the little s**ts put my shop window through stealing over a grands worth of stock!! I ve had a few shop lifters which i m not used to. I m tired, stressed and need to drink so i m off now!!

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