A director of Loch Leven’s Larder has spoken of his anger at the “evil ne’er-do-wells” who raided his business.
Thieves took cash and jewellery in a break-in at the Kinross-shire shop in the early hours of Friday morning.
They also caused up to £10,000 of damage by smashing four windows and damaging an internal door, four tills and display units.
Police have linked the incident to a raid at Jamesfield Farm Shop, Abernethy, in the early hours of Monday, January 15.
First serious break-in in 16 years in Kinross-shire
It is the first such break-in in the 16 years the larder has been operating off the A911 near Milnathort.
The family business is led by Emma Niven, who is helped by two fellow directors – her husband Rob and his brother Mike.
“You feel invaded,” Rob told The Courier.
“All of our customers feel this is a safe place to come, a community hub.
“Your initial feeling is that you have been invaded. You feel sullied.
“You lose faith in humanity but then you gain it back in spades when you see your customers and family and friends rally around you afterwards.
“Faith in the honest people always outweighs the villains.
“But it is upsetting when you know there are these evil ne’er-do-wells in the area.”
Link to raid at Jamesfield Farm Shop
The shop was still able to open on Friday, but an area of retail was shut for police to investigate the incident.
CCTV footage shows two individuals scoping out the building between 1.45am and 4am and then breaking through one of the shop’s glass windows.
Loch Leven Larder has a partnership with Rebecca Jewellery, whose jewellery display was all stolen.
But what irks Rob most is that little of value was taken.
This is an echo of the break-in at Jamesfield Farm Shop, whose owner Ian Millar said the damage caused far outweighed the amount of of money stolen.
Rob added: “The value of the till draw that they smashed is greater than the contents – and they have done that in four tills.
“It’s pointless, needless.
“They have smashed four windows and taken a small amount of jewellery that won’t be much for resale in the grand scheme of things.
“You would think they would be learning that although these rural destinations appear to be easy targets, it is low-hanging fruit because there is nothing in them.
“There is very little cash in the premises and very little of value you can carry way, so it is so frustrating that the damage has been greater than their gain.”
Suspects ‘park away and walk to businesses’
One of the suspects is described as being of medium build and was wearing a light-coloured jacket and a balaclava.
Police described the other suspect as being of stocky build, wearing dark-coloured jeans, and black shoes.
Rob offered his own crime prevention advice.
“Be vigilant and try where you can to keep an eye out see any strangers wandering looking suspicious and cars parked at odd times of day,” he said.
“Because I think they park away from the business and walk to it.
“There is a chance they could be seen by people who work through the night.
“They will keep doing the same thing and hopefully get caught eventually.”
Police appeal after break-in at Loch Leven Larder
Detective Constable Kim Brenchley said: “Inquiries to establish the full circumstances are ongoing and we are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.
“We are also appealing to anyone driving in the area at the time who may have dash-cam footage to contact police.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police quoting incident 0437 of January 19.
Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers.
