by An innocent text message has caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage to a London pub.
Craig Newton, a 27 year-old labourer, used his Nokia N95 to text his friend Gary O’Neil to enquire if wanted to join him for a drink in their local public house.
“All I did was send Gaz a message saying, “Heading to the Duck, get everyone there for a pint?” It was perfectly innocent” said Mr Newton.
Unfortunately for Newton, his Nokia device, which utilises “predictive text technology” substituted the word ‘pint’ for the word ‘riot’ and Mr O’Neil thought the text was a call to arms relating to a previously unresolved gang feud.
By the time Mr Newton arrived at the pub, the police were already on the scene, and seven arrests had been made and eleven knives and assorted weaponry had been confiscated.
Deputy Chief Constable Norman Smith said, “This just goes to show the dangers of predictive text. We suggest the public takes the time to properly type out their intended message, or at the very least double checks it before sending.”
“It’s only a matter of time before this type of thing kills someone.”
Nokia were unavailable for comment.
