Crime shock for island as thief grabs lifeboat cash

IT is a tiny island where crime is almost unknown.

But Hoy, in Orkney, has been left shocked after a thief snatched a tin used to collect cash for the local lifeboat crew.

It was the second crime in days on the island – home to only 420 people – where the most recent offence previously reported was in August last year.

The collection tin had been left out by the ladies’ lifeboat guild at Lyness ferry terminal. Hoy’s RNLI station was at the centre of one of Britain’s worst lifeboat disasters when, in 1969, all eight men were lost after their vessel capsized during a callout to help a ship adrift in a storm.

Many of the current crew lost relatives in the disaster.

One islander, Rachel Thomson, said: ‘We don’t get a lot of crime here so this theft is very disappointing. People are very saddened by it.’

Orkney police say that the tin was stolen between April 2 and last Friday.

Officers are also investigating an attempt to force open a coin-operated meter for a shower located at public conveniences at nearby Longhope Pier at some time on April 4 or the next day.

Orkney area police commander Chief Inspector Matt Webb said: ‘Crimes such as this are highly unusual in our islands and have naturally caused concern to the local community in Hoy.

‘Theft is unacceptable in any form but stealing from a charity is a particularly insensitive act.

‘We’re keeping an open mind about whether these two incidents are linked and inquiries are ongoing in both cases.’

Police Scotland said the last recorded crime on Hoy – a theft – led to an arrest.