The owner of an East Lothian used car dealership is warning the public after being the victim of two back-to-back break-ins last week.
The vandals left a trail of destruction in their wake and took a total of three vehicles from the car lot after ripping a metal fence out of the ground to escape.
“There might be others in the community at risk. They were in the building for three hours the first night and they broke three doors. Then they tore out our fence. That’s not an easy job, it takes time and effort [to carry out.],” Gurinder Singh of Solid Cars LTD said.
“It obviously doesn’t feel great, but there is not much to do about it. We hope the police do something and catch the people responsible.”
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Gurinder shared photos of the aftermath which show glass smashed out of an entry door. Another photo shows broken glass across a desk where it is assumed the criminals broke the window to access car keys.
The used car dealership has been in the Wallyford Industrial Estate for six years, and Gurinder said he has never seen or heard of anything like this happening until now.
“I don’t want to be targeted again,” he said. “I don’t know why they attacked our business, we’ve never had anything like this happen before.”
The first break-in happened between 1am and 2am on Monday 31 October. According to Gurinder, the criminals broke three doors on their way in, then proceeded to turn off the CCTV on the premises.
According to Gurinder, the thieves stole nearly all of the car keys in the shop and took a total of three cars. The criminals also ripped a metal security fence out of the ground before making their escape.
Gurinder said the destruction and disruption have obviously been a financial burden, and the ordeal has caused him a great deal of stress.
Police Scotland have since been involved and issued an appeal following the break-in and car thefts. Gurinder then. said he suffered a second raid on Tuesday.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Detectives in East Lothian are appealing for information following a break-in and a number of thefts from premises at the Wallyford Industrial Estate.
“Three cars and a number of keys were stolen from the premises. Two of the cars have been recovered from Robertson Avenue, Prestonpans, and Prestonpans Railway Station respectively. The third vehicle – a silver BMW 3 Series (KG53 HZV) – is still outstanding.”
However, Gurinder has since said all vehicles have been recovered, and all of the missing car keys have been recovered with help from the public.
Detective Constable Steven Neill, from Dalkeith CID, said: “We are carrying out extensive enquiries into this break-in and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
“If you believe you can assist our enquiries, or have potential CCTV or dashcam footage from the area, please call police on 101, quoting incident 0834 of 31 October. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, if you wish to remain anonymous.”
Police Scotland said enquiries remain ongoing in relation to this incident.
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