A hooded vandal has been caught on CCTV trying to break into a Broughty Ferry shop before venting his frustration by breaking a window.
The footage reveals the mystery raider caught in the act at the King Street premises in the early hours of Tuesday. Made available by newsagent Mohammed Imran (35) from his shop’s CCTV camera, it shows the man, wearing a cap and with a backpack over his shoulders, appearing on the scene at 3.46am.
He then raises the hood from his jacket over his head to further conceal his identity before stepping up to the doorway and producing what looks like a crowbar. Crouching against the doorway, he wields the object against the metal gate guarding the door in an effort to prise open its lock.
He spends several minutes on the task, and is seen putting all his weight to the challenge of levering the opening.
His repeated efforts fail and he appears to become frustrated. He disappears across the road and returns a few minutes later. After pausing for a spell, he walks round the corner to the shop’s window in Lawrence Street where there is a burst of activity out of view.
It is at that moment that the window is smashed. The time showing on the CCTV at that point is 4.10am and there is no further sign of the man.
Seconds later, a delivery van approaches the shop, its arrival possibly scaring him away.
Tayside Police said inquiries into the incident are continuing and they appealed for anyone who was in the area at the time and may have seen the man to come forward.
Anyone with information can call the police on 0300 111 2222.
As he swept up after the damage on Tuesday morning, Mr Imran’s father-in-law found a stone inside the smashed display area.
”I wonder if, after the man tried to break in, he went over to the beach to find the pebble to use to smash the window,” Mr Imran said. ”It is smooth and like the ones you see on the beach.
”We’ve put it in a bag and will hand it over to the police for fingerprint evidence. I’ll also be giving the CCTV disc showing the man at the shop to the police.”
The vandalism was the second crime at the newsagent’s since Mr Imran took it over in 2009. The first was a break-in when property worth several thousand pounds was stolen.