The Crown Bar in Belfast suffered £70,000 worth of damage in an incident at the weekend, a court heard yesterday. The main damage to the 150-year-old pub, which featured in the film Odd Man Out and is a well-known tourist haunt, was to hand-painted windows at the front entrance in Great Victoria Street.
Two men appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court yesterday accused of causing criminal damage and assaults. Mr Robert Stewart (22), of Mervue Court, Belfast, and Mr Perry Willson (24), of no fixed address, were remanded in custody. Their solicitor, Mr Billy McNulty, said they were denying the charges and would be applying for bail in the High Court tomorrow.
Last night Mr Denis Monaghan, a manager for Bass Leisure Retail, which operates the Crown, said: "The damage will be made good whatever the cost."
Mr Monaghan said his company had informed its landlord, the National Trust, about the damage and would be working with it to ensure that the restoration work was in keeping with the original.