The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Vandal-hit showroom has been ‘left a sitting duck’
CRIME: Car showroom owner says Facebook users have identified the culprit and police have been given information but he remains on the loose
A Fife garage targeted by a vandal four times in three weeks has been left a sitting duck by police, its owner claims.
Saline Motors has had car windows put in and showroom windows smashed and cracked by a man who has been caught on CCTV.
Garage owner Martin Blackadder said he gathered piles of information on the crime on Facebook, as after sharing footage several people have identified the culprit who has been spotted near the premises.
Although he gave police the suspect’s name and other evidence last week, the vandal remains on the loose.
Mr Blackadder and members of his staff have had to guard the garage in Comrie, near Dunfermline, themselves over the last few nights, staying until the early hours of the morning to ensure the vandal does not return.
He said: “It’s frightening. The person doing this is dangerous. We are like sitting ducks. We are having to police the garage ourselves.”
However, Police Scotland insisted a robust investigation was under way and appealed for information from the public.
Cameras in and around the showroom captured the man, who left an abusive note during one visit, swinging a weight in a sock to wreak destruction.
They also recorded him hiding behind one of the 40 cars on the forecourt as two dog walkers chatted across the road.
Mr Blackadder estimated more than £4,400 worth of damage had been caused, with four cars vandalised, one showroom window smashed and another cracked.
After the most recent attack last Thursday, police came to review CCTV footage, photographed a footprint and took away the sock and weight, which were dumped in the forecourt.
Mr Blackadder said: “On Friday night there were police cars everywhere but the police presence has died away again. We haven’t heard anything since.
“We have done all the police work ourselves on Facebook.”
Posts on the garage’s Facebook page about the crimes have reached more than 36,000 people with some getting in touch to report sightings.
Mr Blackadder said: “Due to the fantastic response on Facebook we were able to pass on piles of information to help put a stop to this, but to no conclusion.
“We are still left vulnerable and helpless until the culprit is put away.”
A police spokesperson said: “Police in Fife are investigating reports of repeat vandalism at a motor garage in Main Street, Comrie.
“We take all reports of vandalism extremely seriously and are in the process of a robust and thorough investigation of which the analysis of CCTV footage is just one aspect.
“Officers are keen to hear from anyone who has information that can assist them with their inquiries.”