Angry Prestonpans hot tub owners issue warning after brazen thieves attempt theft in broad daylight
and live on Freeview channel 276
Mhari-Lee Hastie returned from the school run to find the plug for the £250 Lazy Spa Miami hot tub pulled up against her kitchen window and, 45 minutes later, noticed the cable outside had been partially cut - but she thinks they lost interest because it was full of water and would be hard to shift.
She and her partner, Stuart Williams, are now urging other hot tub owners to use deterrents like cameras and keep the hot tub filled with water and - at the very least - store inside the pump which creates the bubbles during winter.
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Hide AdSpeaking to the Edinburgh Evening News, Mhari-Lee said it was just as well her pet labrador, Skye, was in the house at the time as she feared the dog could have been stolen if it were outside.
Mhari-Lee, who bought the hot tub from B&M at the start of lockdown for the family, said: “I was really shocked, to be honest. I’ve lived in this street for more than seven years and nothing like this ever happens. I was very angry that some people had come into my garden as my gate is always shut.”
The 25-year-old reckons the thieves attempted to steal the hot tub, which sits on a wooden deck a few feet away from the house when in use, at some point between 2:30pm and 3pm on Wednesday October 14.
She also noticed the back gate was open and the lid had been unclipped, which made her suspect they had decided to leave after discovering it was filled with water.
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Hide AdMhari-Lee said this particular hot tub takes about five hours to drain.
The couple did have a back garden camera but this was moved to the front of the house just a week before the incident.
Mhari-Lee said none of her neighbours saw anything and so they decided not to report the incident to police.
A generous person in a local Facebook group has since given them a replacement cable.