Armadale man has power tools stolen

Dec 15 2011 by Allan Valente, West Lothian Courier

AN Armadale man has been left £700 out of pocket after thieves broke into his work van and stole power tools.

Barry Millar operates Tidy Gardens West Lothian, a landscape gardening business in the area.

The 34-year-old parked his work van in his driveway in Anderson Avenue as normal on the evening of Saturday, December 3 before he went for a night out.

However, on this occasion he left his work tools in the van, something he doesn’t usually do, and the thieves pounced.

Barry said: “I spoke to the police, and while they weren’t 100 per cent sure, they thought it could be part of a spate of similar incidents. They are now looking at CCTV footage in the area.

“The van is always parked in my driveway but I left my tools in it on this occasion. I never usually do that and this was just a one-off.

“I’d been on a night out and came back in the early hours of the morning to find the tools were gone.”

Barry said there hadn’t been extensive damage done to the van, but the thieves had broken a window at the front of the vehicle to gain access to the tools.

He added: “It’s obviously been some opportunist just chancing his arm. They broke the quarter window at the front of the van.

“They didn’t even open the door, they just rolled the window down and grabbed what they could. Some of the tools were quite new.

“It’s a blow to the business. It’s quiet just now because it is winter but it means I’m £700 out of pocket and will have to pay to buy more tools for the next season.

“I had been led to believe that I had insurance cover for the tools but it turns out they weren’t insured.

“I don’t know if it’s because it’s the run up to Christmas and people are looking to steal things and sell them on to make more money.”

A police spokesman said: “Lothian and Borders Police are investigating after a number of power tools were stolen from a van in Armadale, West Lothian.

“The theft took place sometime between 7pm on Saturday, December 3 and 5.15am on Sunday, December 4 in Anderson Avenue.

“Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area or who has information that can assist officers with their enquiries is asked to come forward.”