Brazen thief makes off with chocolate and lollipops after breaking into Spud Dads van in Edinburgh
CCTV footage shows a man laughing as he walked away with the stolen goods
A brazen thief who broke into an Edinburgh food van just three months after it opened laughed as he made off with chocolate and lollipops.
Spud Dads, which sells gourmet baked potatoes from the trailer at Fountain Park, was targeted at around 12.30am on Saturday, April 18.
Owner Graham, who started the business with his brother Kyle and friend Mikey, said the late night break-in is the first negative experience they have had since they were met with huge queues when they opened on February 2.
Speaking to the Evening News, Graham said: “It’s just quite annoying when we opened up the other morning, to see that this had happened.
“The security at Fountain Park said the CCTV footage shows a lone man aged between 30 and 40 enter through the hatch. He was inside for around 20 minutes and when he came out, he was chuckling to himself and carrying a box of Galaxy chocolate bars and a tree of Chupa Chups lollies.”
Graham added that, while it was frustrating to have the items stolen, it was the fact the man had been inside the van that was particularly unsettling for the team.
“Someone has been inside the trailer for 20 minutes and that’s definitely what’s bothering us most,” he said. “It must be how someone feels when their home or car is broken into, it’s just frustrating to think of someone being in your private space.”
But he said that the support from loyal customers and members of the community was a great comfort to the Spud Dads trio, who are now working with police to find the person responsible.
“We posted about the break-in on social media on Saturday and that ended up being such a good day for us - actually one of our best days,” said Graham.
“The support has always been good in general, we’ve always had great support from our friends, family and the general public, so it was good to see people come down and support us and turn a negative into a positive.”
Police Scotland has been approached for comment.