Manager describes 'haunting' moment he discovers Inverness charity break-in with thousands stolen
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The manager of an Inverness charity says he feels like "a wee bit of his soul has left his body" after discovering the premises had been broken into last night.
Inverness Kart Raceway in Fairways Business Park had both its safes stolen from the reception area overnight, with more than £3000 being taken.
The youth charity supports young adults to grow in confidence and succeed in their futures.
Inverness Kart Raceway manager Pete Doherty said: "It's really really tough, it stings. We don't do this for money - we do it because we want to help people.
"We've changed our careers to help young people, and we like the idea of inspiring young people. It starts with them helping on the tracks, then they do apprenticeships and courses, but we need money to do that.
"It's really tough when you go into work and see the windows smashed and the safes smashed. We need every penny - we can't afford to lose it."
Mr Doherty had received a call that the alarm was going off at the Raceway and he assumed that it was just a false alarm, but was left shocked when he realised the window had been smashed and it had been broken into.
He added: "I was just going to bed when I got the phonecall and normally the alarm goes off twice a year and I thought it was just an animal, but then I find out the place is in bits.
"It was strange and very haunting waiting for the police to come."
Mr Doherty has now warned other businesses to make sure they have tight security, and he has said Inverness Kart Raceway is not the only place to have suffered a break-in recently.
"If you are a business in Inverness which has a safe, it might be worth looking over your security risks to mitigate any misery they might come your way," he urged.
"If you know anything about what happened at the track last night please come forward and let us know, it doesn’t matter how insignificant the detail.
"We have full CCTV footage of the whole robbery, this is being analysed by the police. The safes have been recovered by the police as well and are away for DNA testing.The police also found the beanie hat that the thief was wearing.
"Any info you can think of that may help us catch the thief would be much appreciated."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were called around 1.30am on Saturday, 3 February, to a report of a housebreaking at a premises at Fairways Business Park in Inverness. Enquiries are ongoing."
