A north-east mechanic turned detective over the weekend to track down vandals who wrecked his apprentice’s first car.
Jake Minty’s 14-year-old Renault Clio was parked near the garage where he works in Boddam, near Peterhead.
But on Saturday the 19-year-old and his boss Matthew Lewis discovered vandals had scratched the paint work of the vehicle, which the apprentice has spent months fixing up.
The culprits appear to have carved their own names in the body work – making it easier for Mr Minty and Mr Lewis to track them down. The pair, who work at M&K Motors, also managed to get a video of their suspects, after spotting them in the area.
Last night Mr Lewis said: “I’ve been doing detective work, trying to get in touch with the parents of the kids.
“The car was obviously old and was parked around the corner but Jake had been using it every weekend, doing work on it and getting it ready for the road. It was going to be his first car.”
Mr Lewis said he had never had a problem with vandalism before on the site and explained that finding the alleged culprits was surprisingly easy.
“They put all their names on it so it wasn’t hard to track them down. They’re not the cleverest of vandals. The only chap we’ve not been able to track down – we think he’s the leader of the gang – tagged himself as ‘Satan’.
“One of the parents saw the video we posted and contacted me straight away and was very apologetic.
Mr Minty added: “I was fuming – I couldn’t believe that all my hard work, time and money had been thrown away just like that. I understand that it’s a couple of young kids but when I was their age I wouldn’t have even thought of doing such a thing to someone else’s property.”
He said he would be happy to draw a line under the incident if he can be reimbursed for the damage caused to his car.
A police spokesman confirmed an investigation is underway.
He said: “Inquiries are an early stage and anyone with any information is encouraged to contact police on 101.”