‘No further action’ to be taken in Dundee Railway Station’s piano vandalism

The destruction of Dundee Railway Station’s original, much-loved piano is likely to remain a mystery following the effective closure of the police investigation.

British Transport Police confirmed there will be no further action in the probe into the vandalism which shocked the city.

The instrument was donated to the new £38 million station by local man Dave Patterson in July, in a touching dedication to his late wife Jean, a former Scotrail employee.

It was damaged beyond repair days later.

British Transport Police launched an investigation to trace whoever was responsible but officers have yet to identify a culprit.

On Tuesday a spokesman said: “No further action is being taken for this case unless further investigative opportunities come to light.”

The incident also sparked a public fundraising campaign, with £4,700 donated for a replacement.

It is now removed when the station is unmanned in case it is also wrecked.

Mr Patterson said he was not angry that the investigation had hit a dead end, saying the reaction from the city had “more than compensated the sadness of the damage”.

He said: “There’s no doubt in my mind that if they were able to pin it on anybody they would.

“The way the city came together to raise money for the replacement was overwhelming. People said they are not going to stand for that.

“That is very satisfying to me. It’s become an icon of Dundee.

“The original was probably more suited to a domestic setting anyway, but I did my research before spending the fundraising money and found one that could be used in these settings.”

As well as a memorial to Jean, the new piano features a plaque which explains it is “The People’s Piano – Funded by donations from the citizens of Dundee and friends of the city worldwide.”

The instrument is moved to a “secure location” whenever the station is unmanned.

Scotrail bosses said the station had been short staffed recently, meaning the piano has not been on display as regularly as it would like, but it hoped to have this resolved over the next few days.

The replacement usually sits at the bottom of the escalators, whereas the original one was near the front door.

Mr Patterson added: “I did suggest to Scotrail that they move the piano at night. I’m very happy that they’re doing that as it won’t do the piano any harm.

“I don’t stay up at night worrying that anything like this will happen again to the new piano.”