Reminder that vandalism 'will not be tolerated' after new furniture damaged at King's Lynn cinema
Officials at Lynn's Majestic Cinema have said vandalism will not be tolerated, after new chairs were damaged the day after they had been delivered.
New furniture had been unveiled in the bar area of the cinema on Tower Street on Friday, but by Saturday night, some of the seating had been damaged by a "big group of teens" who were caught on CCTV.
General manager Tom Cundy said while it is not the "worst vandalism in the world", it is "annoying and frustrating" β in particular ahead of plans to invest in the business over the next six months, which will see a new screen created, with new seating and sofas planned too.
"I can't stress how nice it's going to be," he said.
"But what's the point in doing that if two days after people come in and ruin it? We just want to make people aware that it's not really on."
Mr Cundy said: βIt's not the worst vandalism in the world, the furniture hasn't been completely ripped apart, but a couple of them have been damaged and a bar stool as well."
The issue is more about a "lack of respect", he added.
"The seats were being chucked around everywhere, foam from the cushions was hitting lights, and they were kicking the bar stools over."
Although the cinema has CCTV of the incident, they are not looking to report it to the police, as the footage does not make it clear who was responsible for the damage.
A post about the incident on the cinema's Facebook page said: "We have CCTV of it so everyone who was up there will not be allowed back and can find another cinema to go to."
Some members of the public suggested that the CCTV should be posted on social media to identify the individuals involved, but Mr Cundy said they were not keen to do so, as they believe the footage shows a number of minors.
Mr Cundy said: "Hopefully they will see the post and maybe they will come in and apologise. It's not acceptable.
"Maybe this will remind people that we have got cameras everywhere."
"It isn't a problem we get often, but to have this and especially so soon after getting the furniture, it's really annoying and frustrating," he added.
"We have had hundreds of people come in over the weekend β it's a very small minority who do things like this, but it doesn't make it any better."
Work on the new screen is due to start in January, and it is expected to take about six to eight weeks to complete, at which time the cinema will be down to two screens.