A tiny Scottish island where residents routinely leave their houses and cars unlocked has suffered its first burglary in living memory after a visiting workman stole £60.
The culprit, who was later caught, was fined £400 and ordered to pay compensation to his victim, after snatching the cash on Colonsay, off the west coast, where there has been no crime at all since 2004.
The Hebridean isle — where locks are reportedly rusted through lack of use — is home to only 125 people and is seen as one of Britain’s safest places.
Friday’s Daily Telegraph reported that the island’s part-time policeman Don McLeod swooped on thief James Harvey (38) from Glasgow, who was stranded on Colonsay for several days while he waited for a ferry back to the mainland.
Harvey’s victim, ”Wee” Davie Sutherland (75) was quoted as saying: ”I suppose it was only £60 but it just doesn’t happen here.
”I don’t even have a lock on my house, so that tells you what you need to know about the island.”
The last crime on Colonsay involved the theft of several cars which were driven around the island then dumped. – Sapa-AFP