EDINBURGH (Web Desk) – Police are trying to find out who carried out the first crime on a tiny Scottish island for about half a century.
The “rare” raid on the only shop on Canna in the Inner Hebrides has been described as “unbelievable”.
And the volunteers who run the community store said they were “gutted by it”.
The last crime on the island, which has a population of about 20, was reportedly the theft of a carved wooden plate from a church in the 1960s, SKY NEWS reported.
The shop has been run on an “honesty basis” for four years, with customers noting down the groceries and items they take in a book and leaving the money in a box.
It is regularly left open overnight to allow fishermen who dock at the island’s pier to get what they need at any time.
But those which run the shop said that will now have to change after the theft on Friday night.
A Facebook message by the Isle of Canna Community Development Trust said: “The thieves cleared the shelves of sweets, chocolate bars, coffee, biscuits, toiletries, batteries and more.
“Most upsetting for Julie (the shop manager) was they stole six of her hand-knitted Canna wool hats which were in the shop on a sale or return basis. These hats are all unique.
“The thieves would have had to fill carrier bags with the amount of items they took.”
The Trust, which has appealed for anyone with information to come forward, continued: “Sadly, this means we will have to lock the door of the shop overnight now.”
Councillor Bill Clark, who has represented the area for 13 years, said: “It’s quite unbelievable; it’s something you don’t hear about at all in the Inner Isles.
“I would think this is the first crime in years – I don’t know for sure but I certainly haven’t heard of any crime there in my time. I doubt very much if anyone even locks their doors there.”
Police said they did not know the history of crime on the island, which is about four miles long and a mile wide, but that the shop theft was “rare”.
Officers on the mainland are investigating the incident and want to speak to anyone who was docked at Canna pier on Friday night.
