Peaceful protest led to fish and chip shop being barricaded with wall of fridges

The owners of a fish and chip shop in Maidstone, Kent, were surprised after arriving at the premises to open up on Tuesday morning and finding it had been barricaded with a wall of fridges. Big Ben's Fish & Grill was left inaccessible by the barricade of around 20 fridges which mysteriously popped up overnight. Kevin Wildeman and Paul Stone of neighboring white goods firm Extra Mile have claimed responsibility for the prank, which they say was a peaceful protest about their forthcoming eviction.
The landlord of the property, who also owns the fish and chip shop, had asked them to leave on Tuesday. But rather than go quietly, the two spent 40 minutes that morning creating the wall of fridges as part of a demonstration. Richard Phillips, who works for the landlord, said the tenants of Clutter Box and Extra Mile had breached their contract on numerous occasions and would be evicted. He added: "I'm disgusted at what they've done, this isn't a prank."

Mr Stone, who spoke on behalf of Extra Mile as his business partner Mr Wildeman was asleep following a busy night of fridge gutting, said they were being forced to leave the property for no reason. He added the prank was a response to Big Ben's asking its customers to park on the forecourt of Clutter Box. Mr Stone said: "There's no malice in it, we spent 40 minutes bolting the fridges together but didn't want to cause any damage to the property.

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"We're being pushed out of our business and this was the best way of showing the landlord we can't be bullied." He added: "You could say revenge is a dish best served cold." An environment team from Maidstone Borough Council was soon on the scene to inspect the barrier and the police were also called. Soon after the council team arrived Mr Stone set about dismantling the white goods wall. The owner of the fish and chip shop did not wish to comment on the situation.