A break-in at a charity shop in the Keiller Centre in Dundee has left its owner “shocked”.
Cash was stolen from the Boys’ Brigade store in the city centre shopping centre when it was targeted on Tuesday morning.
The man, who left a knife behind in his wake, took the cash register and its £50 float.
Shop owner Allan Fordyce, who is captain of the Dundee Boys’ Brigade, says the break-in is “the lowest of the low”.
The store, which opened in 2015, raises funds for the local youth club, which operates out of Stobswell Trinity Church.
It sells second-hand items such as clothing and furniture.
Allan said: “I got a phone call from the ladies who run the shop for me on Tuesday morning saying that the till was missing and wondering if I had taken it away.
“I said, ‘No, the till was there when I left at 3pm on Monday’.
“So I asked them to call security and play back CCTV.”
Video footage captured by the Keiller Centre‘s security cameras revealed that the break-in occurred at 9.05am on Tuesday – before the shop opened at 10am.
It showed a man with a bald head and wearing trainers stealing the till.
But how he gained access to the shop remains a mystery, says Allan, who locked its shutters the day before.
He is yet to see the footage for himself.
‘I am shocked’
Allan says staff also found a broken knife in the shop – which they suspect might have been used in an attempt to prise open the cash register before it was taken.
The 52-year-old said: “I am shocked.
“A theft is one thing but a theft from a charity shop is the lowest you can go.
“It brings money in for the Boys’ Brigade club.
“It is hard enough for the parents with the cost of living crisis, so I subsidise the trips as much as I can with the shop money.”
The Boys’ Brigade – a UK-wide group rooted in Christian faith – organises adventures and activities for youngsters.
Police launch investigation after Keiller Centre charity shop break-in
The shop, which is run by a team of six volunteers, has remained open for business while police investigate the incident.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 12.30pm on Tuesday, we received a report of a break-in at a premises in Chapel Street, Dundee.
“Inquiries are at an early stage.”
