A director of the Aston Manor Brewery in Birmingham, Great Britain, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to contaminate rival HP Bulmer's products with yeast, a plot that would have caused diarrhoea and nausea for anyone drinking the beverages, intending to damage Bulmer economically, according to Birmingham Post.

Michael Hancocks teamed up with a chemist, his daughter's boyfriend, and a forklift driver at HP Bulmer, to carry out the plot, the Birmingham Post writes. He allegedly promised the latter GBP 16,000 for helping with the contamination plot, but the driver instead turned to the Bulmer management and the police, leading to the apprehension of Hancocks et consortes. The three are expected to be sentenced on May 1.

18 April, 2003