Highland charity bosses slam thieves after night-time incidents at Alness base
Furious charity bosses has slammed “unscrupulous” criminals who have carried out a spate of thefts from their base in Easter Ross.
ILM Highland staff have been left in “disbelief” after a series of night-time thefts from their compound on the Teaninich Industrial Estate in Alness.
The thieves have taken a range of items, including valuable metals from the site’s skips and fuel from vehicles - with the value of the diesel stolen coming in at around £300 to £400 each time, meaning the cost is now into four figures.
The “last straw” came at the weekend, when the thieves entered the compound at around 11.30pm on Sunday and stole the battery from a new lorry.
READ MORE: Ross-shire social enterprise celebrates 30 years of supporting the community
READ MORE: Alness-based charity ILM Highland plays part helping Ukrainian refugees
As well as the £200 cost of the stolen battery, the vehicle was left off the road until a replacement could be fitted - with ILM Highland CEO Martin Macleod estimating that the knock-on costs of the lorry being unavailable likely amounted to around £1500.
Taking to social media on Tuesday, Mr Macleod said: “As most of our friends know, ILM Highland is a charity, and we strive to assist the most vulnerable people living within our communities. However, over the last few weeks we have been targeted by individuals stealing items from our yard.
“Sunday evening was the last straw when someone entered our yard and stole a battery from our new lorry. This had an impact on our productivity as we were unable to utilise the lorry until a new battery was sourced and fitted.”
Speaking to the Ross-shire Journal later, he added that the impact of the thefts was also costing the charity in other ways, with the team having to fell several trees and bushes near one of the compound fences to remove any cover the criminals may have been using. New security fencing has also had to be installed to try to act as a deterrent.
He added that the spate of thefts had become such a problem that a haulier who kept their refrigerated lorry in the compound was now not keeping the vehicle there at night after it was repeatedly targeted by diesel thieves.
And Mr Macleod had a message for the thieves, saying that the relatively low amount of money they were making from the thefts was coming at the expense of a charity that works hard to help people across the Highlands through its provision of home improvement, electrical recycling and retail services.
“We do appreciate that times are hard for people at this moment in time but this is not the right way to get money in,” he said.
“The [lorry] battery costs us £200 for a new one so they're probably only getting just £40 or so for it. The impact on us means lorries are off the road. The incident with the lorry [battery] probably cost us in the region of £1500 in [knock on costs],” he added, explaining that waste recycling pick-ups had been missed and staff who would have used the lorry had been unable to carry out that work while waiting on the repairs.
And, as well as appealing to the thieves’ consciences, he also warned them that all CCTV footage from the various incidents had “now been passed over to the police”, who were investigating.
He also urged the public to report any suspicious incidents they might see on the site outside operating hours.
“You assistance would be appreciated in catching these unscrupulous individuals who think it is OK to steal from a charity,” he said to the public. “If you happen to pass ILM Highland outwith opening hours and you see something suspicious, please report this to the police immediately.”
Police Scotland was approached for comment.
