An Inverness family are ‘appalled’ after thieves raided their city business for the second time.
Gus MacDonald was shocked to discover the Inverness crazy golf facility had been broken into overnight.
Gus, who runs the Bught Road attraction alongside his mum, Beth, found the door had been forced open and a three-figure sum of money stolen upon returning to work this morning.
Thieves are believed to have emptied the club’s charity box – earmarked for their 24-hour charity Golf athon next month – alongside the till’s float.
Gus believes a sum of around £150 is missing.
The matter has since been reported to the police.
Owners appalled to discover overnight break-in
Speaking to the Press and Journal, Gus says witnessing the community’s goodwill being targetted in this way sickens him.
He said: “We are appalled; It’s horrible.
“The thing that annoys us most is that somebody has seen our charity box, which was bolted to the counter, and I despise the fact that anyone has targeted that.
“I think they must have seen it, in my opinion.
“We’re appalled by the break-in.
“It’s not about the monetary value, in all honesty.
“There is a lot of goodwill for the golf club because we do a lot for the community and to have that stolen just sickens you, it really does.”
The family took over the business, near Bught Park, in 2016 and has gone on to win countless awards.
Gus said it is not the first time they have been victim to thieves; a horrible experience they hope never to experience again.
He added: “We got broken into a number of years ago pre-CCTV and quite a reasonable amount of money got taken then but thankfully, this time, we only had our float there, which you must have.
“Thankfully, every night I’ve emptied the charity box that people that people have so kindly donated money to us for our golf Athon.
“Hopefully it is just a one-off.”
Owners review CCTV footage
The team are now reviewing CCTV footage as they attempt to track down those responsible.
This morning, the devastated owner shared news of the break-in on Facebook, uploading a picture of their damaged door.
He is appealing for anyone with information to get in touch, as they work to recoup what has been lost.
His statement reads: “Sadly we got broken into last night, so we will be open later than usual.
“Waiting on police coming. Thankfully our charity box gets emptied of notes every evening so they only got our float and £20ish in coins from the box. (We will personally replace that ourselves).
“We are appalled. If anyone has any info please get in touch. We should have some good CCTV images. I’ll post more when I have more info. Thanks in advance if you could share this post. Raging.”
Gus calls on those responsible to do the right thing and come forward.
He added: “Hopefully, they have the decency to replace the money that they took and have a bit of remorse, but I doubt that very much.”
News of the break-in has sent shockwaves across the Inverness community.
Inverness crazy golf raid – reaction
Scores of people have taken to the comments to condemn their ‘outrageous’ actions.
One person wrote: “That’s just disgusting. They will get caught. I hope they have to do community service – ie: work at yours for free to repair the damage they have caused – then they will also have to face your regulars too.”
Another wrote: “Ugh, I thought the person stealing the lady’s flowers was awful, but this is outrageous. Sorry, this has happened to you.”
One fan wrote: “That’s awful, why would people do that. Absolutely disgusting.”
Another added: “What is wrong with people these days honestly.”
Police are looking for the suspect, described as white, around 5ft 6ins in height and of large build. He was wearing a grey tracksuit and a face covering.
A Police spokesperson said: “Around 9.15am on Tuesday, May 28, we received a report of a break-in and theft at premises on Bught Road, Inverness that had taken place in the early hours of the morning.
Detective Sergeant Joanna Macleod said: “Our enquiries are continuing and we have been gathering CCTV footage from in and around the area.
“I would urge anyone with information that may assist our enquiry to please contact us. I’d also ask anyone who was in the area early on Tuesday morning who has dashcam or any personal footage to please review it and get in touch if it holds anything that may be relevant.”
Conversation