Loanhead community rallies around Post Office after thieves break in and make off with charity money
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Thieves made off with charity money which had been raised by locals at the Post Office.
A close-knit community has rallied to support their local Post Office after cold-hearted thieves made off with charity donations.
Loanhead Post Office in Midlothian was crown ‘Scotland’s best Post Office’ back in 2020 for its continuing work to help the community and those in need. And now locals have banded together to return the favour to brothers Asif and Adil Bashir, who run the Post Office, after the break-in.
The Post Office, in The Loan, was broken into in the early hours of Thursday, January 29, with thieves having left the scene with funds raised by the brothers for a number of charities in the area. They also caused damage to the building which meant it had to temporarily close.
Asif said: “It's me and my brother and we've got the whole community chipping in as well for all the things that we're doing. We do a lot. We just got the food fund going, we had the hot drinks fund going free for everyone. We've got the Women's Refuge thing going on. We've got a lot of projects that are very local. So that's why everybody donates.”
He added that the theft was ‘disheartening’ but said the support from the local community had seen the Post Office able to get back up and running quickly.
He said: “[The thieves] caused damage, but people rallied so quickly. We had a locksmith come down and help us out straight away, then glaziers. We had local guys that are joiners offer to help straight away get everything sorted out. Everybody was coming and offering their help, and we were up and running within a couple of hours.
“Everybody had come in and done their stuff and you can't even tell we've been broken into, because they cleaned everything up and did everything for us so quickly.”
The community’s support is a fitting tribute to the Bashir brothers’ work in the local community, which has also seen them help fellow entrepreneurs to network and encouraging people to shop locally.
Asif said: “I'm very proactive in the community. I do so much with the community. I've got a big networking event that I've put together for entrepreneurs, for people that want to start a business, because there's nobody that helps around here.
“So I've done it so that we can get and Business Gateway actually called me the other day saying what an attraction I've built. They've never been able to build. And so they're going to actually fund the event now, because they're so glad that somebody's actually doing something in the area to help young people.”
He also said he wants to build ‘a thriving Loanhead’ which brings together the whole community.
Asif said: “It's about the whole town. I'm a very proactive business person who believes that every small town should be thriving. Because if you've got small towns thriving, people are going to spend in the community. And the barber, the barber should be busy. The butcher should be busy. The small lady that's got the jewelry shop should be busy. Everybody should shop local.”
He added: “It's just giving back, and it's helping people. You get people coming in, you get younger entrepreneurs, you get older people that are coming in starting to do different things. And people say, ‘I don't know how to do this,’ or ‘I need to speak to somebody. Can you help me with somebody?’
“If anybody comes and asks me ‘do you know any electricians?’ I give them locals. I always give them local numbers, or plumbers. I always say, ‘use your local guys’. If you use a local guy, they've got a good name, everybody else is going to use them. And then they give discounts to people. If you're local, they're like, You know what, your local person, you were recommended through the Post Office guys. So they give them a discount.”
Police Scotland are investigating the break-in, which officers were called to at around 1am.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Around 1am on Thursday, 29 January, 2026 we received a report of a break in to a business premises on The Loan in Loanhead. Enquiries remain ongoing.”