As you now all probably know we got burgled on Saturday. The thieves took about 3500 units of men and womens clothing, packs and bags. All of this stock was stolen from an overflow warehouse we have been using during this busy period. It seems like it was well planned and the robbers knew what they wanted. Yesterday I visited several local businesses and using their CCTV footage have pieced together what happened. There were 3 robbers driving a white high top Ford Transit van. They broke in to the warehouse on foot at 14.00 with the van following shortly after. They took about 30mins to load the van and left just before 15.00. They came back again on foot at 18.30 but were disturbed by one of my neighbors and made their escape. Using the CCTV footage we have managed to map the route they took after the robbery but as yet have not been able to identify either the robbers or the vehicle registration but I am hopeful we can.
So far the police dont seem to be that interested in solving the case and Ive had to do most of the legwork. Since the investigating officer assigned to the case is a regular uniformed officer who is working night shifts I am struggling to understand how he can achieve anything! The general impression I get from the local businesses is that commercial burglaries are not a high priority for the police. I am sure the police have very limited resources but I still find this very depressing. Is it any wonder there have been so many crimes in the area if the police arent prepared to investigate. Although my time is also very limited I am determined to try and bring these criminals to justice even if it means doing a lot of the investigation myself.
3500 units of clothing, packs and bags is a large amount of stock to sell and I really dont understand how the criminals intend to sell it. Although climbing has grown a lot over the past 10 years its still a small market relative to other sports. Its also a very tight knit and loyal community and I cannot believe that this stock will be sold within the UK climbing market. The only outlets I can think of are market stalls up and down the country so keep your eyes and ears open and if you see anything do let us know. The following is the list of what was stolen and you can find photos of all these items on our website.
Joker Pant
Andromeda Pant
Aquila Pant
Mens Zipped Hoody
Mens Lightweight Hoody
Womens Full Zip Hoody
Womens Lightweight Hoody
Cypher Pant
Cypher ¾
Cypher Short
Mushin Pant
Aerial Pack
Vert Pack
Moon Bouldering Bag
Mens Soft Shell Jacket
Womens Soft Shell Jacket
To end I would just like to say a really BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has sent messages of support over the past few days. Its been amazing and really shows the sense of community you all have and means a lot to me. Thank you.