Water of Leith diver finds Edinburgh headteacher's old school bag which was stolen from his car 12 years ago as he dined out with football pals
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Greg Dimeck had been playing football that day with friends and decided to treat them for helping photograph and video his wedding just three months before - by taking them for curry and beers at the Raj restaurant in Leith which was near where he lived at the time.
But he came home to find his car window smashed and no sign of the bag which contained a digital camera, pair of football boots and shin pads.
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Hide AdHowever on Monday, an Inverkeithing-based diver called Shane found the old leather bag at the bottom of the Water of Leith during a dive, after initially going in to help Scottish Water identify issues with drainage and sewage outlets further upstream.
On Wednesday, Shane returned the bag and its remaining contents - a staff ID badge and set of school keys - to Mr Dimeck, who is the headteacher at Gracemount Primary.
Mr Dimeck, who at the time of the theft was deputy headteacher of Gylemuir Primary and played for the Edinburgh primary school teachers football team, told the Evening News: “I think Shane has got a great future as a forensic scientist or private investigator.
“The staff badge was covered in grime but it looks brand new now - and the writing has not faded.”
More shocking finds
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Hide AdRemarkably, during the same dive on Monday, Shane found an old CCTV hard drive unit in an area being searched by some local magnet fishers on the opposite side of the river to where Mr Dimeck’s work bag was found.
He later opened up the unit and discovered a fire protection sheet on it and, after linking up to some of his own IT equipment at home, discovered an image – dated 2018 – showing what he described as “some naked people in a room” in what looked like a brothel.
The shocking discovery was made about two months after the 26-year-old diver helped haul out a safe full of porn magazines in the same part of the river about 60ft away.
Shane said there was no obvious way of establishing who the CCTV unit belonged to and he has since disposed of it.
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Hide AdDuring Monday’s dive, Shane - with the help of local magnet fishers - also recovered two outdoor chairs belonging to Crolla’s Gelateria which had reportedly been stolen on Friday evening and dumped in the water.
A trolley was also pulled out of the water along with a bike, which Shane believes he may have found the owner for after sharing an image on social media.
He said: “It was quite impressive that we managed to find the owner of the bag and potential owner of the bike within two days.
“It gives you a bit of positivity and faith in future dives in that we have managed to clean the river of pollution and managed to help the community in some way.”
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Hide AdPrevious dives by Shane in the Water of Leith have also uncovered up to 14 dumped Just Eat bicycles, six imitation cannonballs and three old cars.
Shane says he is keen to keep diving once a week or fortnightly to clean up the Water of Leith and help anyone out who may have lost valuables in rivers - be it in Edinburgh or further afield. To find out more, visit his Facebook page HERE.