Updated 5.50pm to note perpetrators identified

A pick-up truck was filmed driving and smashing into stone planters outside a popular restaurant in Siġġiewi, in an apparent act of vandalism. 

CCTV footage taken on Sunday evening outside  Marilú restaurant show a silver pick-up truck stopping as it is driven along the planters, before its driver reverses, changes course and drives into them twice in quick succession. 

Three passengers can be seen in the truck, with one seen laughing as the vehicle reverses and crashes into the second planter. 

Suspects identified by police

The restaurant is located a stone’s throw away from the Siġġiewi parish church, very close to the village's main square. 

The area is usually a busy one, and in the video footage, a passer-by can be seen crossing the street moments before the truck drives into the panters.

Marilú’s owners published the footage on social media on Sunday evening, asking anybody with information about the perpetrators to come forward. A police report was filed, they added.

The suspects were identified by police on Monday afternoon, the restaurant's owners told Times of Malta.

The owners said they tried their best to retain all the building's Maltese features. 

“We kept all the old features at 66-68, Pjazza San Nikola and studied its history. From being “tas-superjura”, “tas-Sagristan”, to having a small shoe shop," the wrote. 

"It's the small things too, like getting old Maltese ħwat [troughs] and investing in plants to decorate our facade with respect to our marvellous pjazza and the stunning church. This is why this just breaks our hearts and squashes our spirit."

They said it was shocking and hurtful to watch the footage of the perpetrators laughing.