A devastated Vauxhall Corsa owner in Midlothian has spoken of how his car was stripped for parts as it was awaiting repair after striking a pothole.
Chris Petrie, says that his car was targeted by thieves that appear to be running rampant across Edinburgh and the Lothians, targeting Corsas for parts that they can sell. The 26-year-old suffered from a rotten run of luck after hitting a pothole before being robbed.
He says that his car was parked on Park Crescent as it awaited a mobile tyre fitter to come and repair the damaged tyre. Unfortunately they had to cancel their original appointment on Wednesday 4 and had to rearrange for Friday 6.
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But in the early hours of the 6th, thieves targeted his car and completely stripped the front bumped with precision and removed several other parts for sale.
The transport worker said: “My car in Loanhead was hit by these Corsa stealing people, apparently there were four in the early hours of the same morning around Edinburgh. The car had been sitting on the road since New Year’s Day after hitting a pothole in Edinburgh.
“The AA had to escort me home, and funnily enough a mobile tyre fitter was meant to come out on Wednesday but had to re-arrange for the 6th, leaving the car stationary for longer.
“The tyre still got changed though, so although half the car is missing, I got a new tyre. When I first saw the damage it was when I attended the car with the tyre fitter on Friday morning.
“I realised my front window had been smashed, then to my shock, I saw that the whole front of the car had been stripped and was completely missing. It’s 30 seconds from the street I live on but as I am on a busy main road, I parked on the side street beside the main road to allow the mobile tyre fitter to attend.
“But Park Crescent’s street lighting has also not been working the past week and lots of people on the street have told me they reported it numerous times to Midlothian Council. This probably made it easier to strip the car in the pitch black.
“It’s a Vauxhall Corsa Griffin 19 plate, they took my front plates too, so I don’t know what they are doing with them. But they clearly know what they were doing as the parts have been moved with precision.
“Not a single neighbour heard a thing either so they were obviously extremely quiet and worked fairly fast. I’ve now heard of four cars, all Corsas that were attacked on the same night and in subsequent nights around Edinburgh with the exact same thing.
“Police are coming out to see me today but they have launched enquiries into all the incidents that have been reported to them.”
Midlothian Council have been contacted for comment regarding the poorly lit street that Chris claims could have made the theft easier to pull off.
Chris added: “I’ve never seen anything like it, I didn’t even know what to do at first. The whole front was missing, and a lovely smashed window to go along with it.
“I’ve had to try to cover it as best I can overnight as there has been heavy rain and now the whole engine is exposed. Police are due to come out but I’m still waiting to hear back from my insurance company.
“It is just a nightmare. We all rely on our cars for our day to day lives, and these people just don’t seem to care who they are impacting.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police are investigating the theft of car parts from two vehicles in Ratho, Edinburgh, and Loanhead, Midlothian.
"The first incident was reported to police around 7:10 am on Friday January 6 2023, and happened in Wilkie View, Ratho, Edinburgh.
"The second incident took place in Park Crescent, Loanhead.
"Enquiries into both thefts are at a very early stage."
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