Thieves who broke into allotments in an overnight raid have been branded ”despicable”.
The perpetrators wrenched open padlocks and doors on sheds and climbed through the window of one greenhouse at the Old Craigie Road allotments beside Eastern Cemetery.
Brothers Fred and Dave Thomson were among the victims targeted in the raid.
Fred (67) arrived at his plot shortly before 8am on Monday to discover his tools had gone.
”The first thing I saw was the window wide open,” he said. ”I went in and I could see my generator was missing. There’s a full set of tools gone, too.
”I started looking about and found my drills dumped behind a skip because they were a different voltage from the generator.”
Fred said it looked like at least two people had carried out the theft.
He said: ”You can see a small person’s footprints and a larger person’s prints in the mud. We’ll be taking precautions from now on but it’s difficult to put in CCTV, because there’s no power.”
The Old Craigie Road allotment hall also had its lock broken off in the raid. Police questioned over 20 allotment holders affected to find out the total amount stolen.
It is understood a vehicle was used in the theft.
Fred’s brother Dave (70) was slightly more fortunate the raiders smashed in the bottom of the door to his outhouse but fled empty-handed.
He said: ”I don’t know what they were looking for but they didn’t steal anything.”
Mr Thomson said he has had an allotment at the Old Craigie Road site for 38 years.
He said: ”How would these people like it if it was their father or grandfather it happened to? We haven’t had any bother for ages but it seems to have started up again.”
Allotment holder Catherine Mclean posted on the police Facebook page to warn people to be on the lookout for stolen goods.
She said: ”If you’re offered anything you think is stolen please let someone know.”
Councillor Craig Melville, the council’s environment convener, hit out at the thieves.
”I’m quite shocked about this,” he said. ”If anybody’s seen anything or has any information they should get in touch with the police.”
Don Elder, secretary of West Law Allotments, knows the devastation that can be caused by thieves trying to get into plots. The allotments in his patch have been blighted with two years of attacks, with sheds flattened and burned out.
He said: ”That’s somebody who’s known what was there I would say. It’s not surprising. You can expect it, there’s not that much security.”
He added: ”I think the only thing that would help would be more police presence.”
A spokesman for Tayside Police said: ”Inquiries are under way after reported break-ins at the allotment recently.”