Police alert as Wester Ross JCB goes walkabout
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THE overnight disappearance of a heavy duty JCB vehicle from a Wester Ross quarry has sparked a a police appeal.
The vehicle was last seen being driven between Achnasheen and Lochluichart late on Saturday night.
The plant went missing at some time between 9.30pm on Saturday and 8am on Sunday morning, Northern Constabulary said in a statement.
The yellow JCB telehandler vehicle was removed from Achnasheen Quarry, Achnasheen “by persons unknown”, say police.
The telehandler was last seen being driven along the A832 from Achnasheen in the direction of Lochluichart about 10pm on Saturday night.
The most common application for such machines is to move loads to and from places unreachable for a conventional forklift. Telehandlers have the ability to remove palletized cargo from within a trailer and to place loads on rooftops and other high places.
The incident comes days after Northern Constabulary rolled out its pilot Farm Watch scheme to parts of Ross-shire.
Theft of plant and machinery and oil has also caused problems in communities across Ross-shire and the wider Highlands.
Farm Watch, which is also being extended to Caithness and Sutherland, is already operating in East Division (Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey).
The scheme uses modern technology to pass out alerts from police to members by text or e-mail. Within minutes of an incident occurring, a message can be sent out, warning other farmers and making it more difficult for criminals to target several farms in a row.
It’s aim is to overcome the idea that remote communities are a ‘soft touch’ when it comes to crime of this nature.
Anyone with information about the JCB incident is asked to contact Dingwall police on 01349 862444.
