Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Thieves steal gas canisters after using power tools to break in to Fife business

Richard Harrison owner of Craik Engineering Supplies, Rosyth, and the fence the thieves cut through. Image: Neil Henderson / DC Thomson.
Richard Harrison owner of Craik Engineering Supplies, Rosyth, and the fence the thieves cut through. Image: Neil Henderson / DC Thomson.

Thieves have made off with around £1,000 worth of gas canisters from a Rosyth business after using power tools to cut through a steel security fence.

Clarik Engineering and Industrial Supplies in Dunfermline Business Park was targeted by thieves on Sunday evening.

CCTV cameras captured four men in Primrose Lane at around 10pm shortly before they are thought to have cut through several steel fence bars at the firm’s premises.

That allowed thieves access to a cage storing dozens of gas canisters.

Power tools used to cut through the fence

Security cameras then captured images of a car leaving the area shortly before 10.30pm.

Owner, Richard Harrison, told The Courier the theft of the 11 large Calor gas canisters came as a shock when staff discovered them missing on Tuesday morning.

Clarick Engineering and Industrial Supplies, Rosyth. Image: Neil Henderson DC Thomson.

He said: “The gas is stored in a steel fence cage complete with wire mesh roof so we thought it would be safe.

“However the thieves have used cordless cutting tools to get through the steel bars.

“You can still see the marks where they have dragged the canisters across the grass verge to a waiting vehicle.”

The theft comes as a blow to the firm which only moved into the new showroom in March.

“We had a similar theft two years ago at our old premises but this is the first time we’ve been targeted here,” said Richard.

Thieves used power tools to cut through the fence. Image: Neil Henderson / DC Thomson.

“It’s a cost we can ill afford as it’s not just the cost of the gas, which is about £1,000, but also the extra cost of now having to reinforce the storage area.”

Warning for other businesses

Richard said he plans to cover the damaged outer perimeter fence with a solid metal sheet costing several hundred pounds in a bid to deter the thieves.

And he is warning other firms to be vigilant and to make sure they don’t leave themselves open to attack.

“As winter approaches the theft of gas generally increases but with the added deepening cost of living crisis it’s only going to get worse,” said Richard.

“That’s why I’m warning other firms in the area to be aware and increase security to try an deter the thieves.”

Police investigation

Police have confirmed they are investigating the theft while Richard said several other businesses and nearby residents have come forward with additional CCTV footage which is to be handed to officers.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Tuesday police in Fife received a report of a theft which is believed to have taken place in the Primrose Lane area of Rosyth over the preceding days.

“Enquiries are at an early stage.”

Conversation