Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen teens distracting residents with bogus fundraisers as friends break into homes and cars

Officers are urging residents to remain vigilant.
Officers are urging residents to remain vigilant.

Teenage thieves have been targeting homes across Aberdeen, claiming to be collecting for a youth football team.

Residents in the Bridge of Don, Tillydrone and West End areas of the city have had personal property and even cars stolen by the gang.

Police say one member will distract homeowners with the bogus fundraising tactic, while the others sneak into their homes and vehicles.

Over the past eight weeks, four teenagers aged 13-17, have been charged in relation to crimes, including the theft of two cars, however officers are urging residents to remain vigilant.

West End councillor Martin Greig said: “I know of one case in particular in the west end where a thief jumped a garden wall and just walked through a French window into someone’s home when the owner was distracted.

“It only happens from time to time, but it has a large impact on the victim, as it’s particularly nasty and extremely unpleasant to have an intruder come into your house.

“There’s always opportunistic crime, but this very malicious approach of distraction theft is very worrying.”

He urged householders to make sure their own home security is up to scratch, and look out for their neighbours.

“In the winter especially, the cover of darkness is often used by criminals, so I’d advise residents to put on the lights when someone knocks on their door and check their credentials,” he added.

“It’s everybody’s responsibility to take steps to protect their homes, and look out for the safety of their neighbours, particularly if they are vulnerable or live alone.”

Bridge of Don councillor Willie Young said: “The people who are caught for these crimes need to be dealt with in an appropriate manner, regardless of their age.

“This isn’t just having a kick-about where you aren’t supposed to, it isn’t childish mischief, this is people thinking about and planning actual crime.

“It’s not only important for the parents to be responsible for their children, but for the children to be responsible for both themselves and their friends in order to put an end to this outrageous behaviour.”

Police are appealing to residents in the affected areas to be extra vigilant and to report any suspicious activity by calling 101 or contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.