The outside area of Mourne Seafood, a popular and much-loved restaurant in Belfast City Centre, has been destroyed in a shocking suspected arson attack.
Mourne Seafood has taken to social media to say that its outdoor area will be closed for the foreseeable future following a suspected arson attack that has caused around £15,000 worth of damage.
Bob McCoubrey, the owner of Mourne Seafood, has said that the incident is “a major blow”. He told BBC News NI, “I’m pretty disgusted. This is the middle of our high season”.
Belfast restaurant’s exterior area destroyed by arson attack – a suspected arson attack at Belfast’s Mourne Seafood
The PSNI have said that they received a report of a fire on Bank Street in the early hours of this morning, 4:40 am Wednesday, 26 July.
The police said that a bin had been set alight, spreading to a gazebo and a store.
A spokesperson said, “Officers attended alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service who extinguished the fire. This is being treated as arson”. The fire service said that the incident was dealt with by 5 am.
A shocking incident in Belfast City Centre – £15,000 worth of mindless damage
Mourne Seafood owner Bob McCoubrey said, “It’s probably about £15,000 to get it back operational for the summer, but it’s debatable whether it’s worth doing for the summer – it’s halfway through the season now, so we have to reassess and think about it.
“It’s been very popular, particularly with the tourists coming – I know we haven’t had much of a summer to date but it has been a big bit of our business, especially since Covid”.
The Belfast restaurant also took to social media to post pictures of the destruction, saying, “We are shocked and saddened to see such wanton destruction inflicted on our wonderful neighbours.
“But we know that they’re strong, and they’ll rise again. Shame on the wasters who did this”.
While the outside area of the restaurant will be closed for the foreseeable, the inside will operate as usual.
