Two vehicles, used by emergency first aiders, have been vandalised after being targeted while volunteers were carrying out training.
Fraserburgh Community First Responders only discovered the damage on Tuesday night, when the group left a training session in the port’s Mid Street.
No other vehicles in the area had been damaged, but the two vans, gifted to the group by local firm Gray and Adams, had their wing mirrors destroyed.
Last night, volunteer Doug Ewen said: “Quite a number of cars were in the street, but we seem to have been targeted.
“There’s been a spate of it in Fraserburgh and it’s not good to see.
“We’ve no reason to believe that anyone would specifically do this to us, because we’re a community scheme to help the town.
“One mirror was left hanging off by a wire, but obviously the vans are on-call throughout the day, so we don’t know when we’ll have the time to get them fully repaired.”
The group itself, which is funded by donations, has now asked for information to help bring those responsible to justice.
In a statement made following the vandalism, a spokesman branded the incident “utterly disappointing”.
He added: “Both our vans were maliciously damaged. We are disappointed that someone felt they had to damage both our vans for no reason.
“If anyone has any information, please get in touch.”
Last year, the first responder group attended 30 call-outs using the vehicles.
More than 20 local businesses and groups helped get the initiative off the ground, which included donations from Cheers Bar towards uniforms and Meallmore, which funded a defibrillator.
James Gray, whose firm donated the vehicles, added the group’s work could “mean the difference between life and death for many people”.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to contact police on 101.
Latest in spate of attacks on emergency services
The targeted attack against the Fraserburgh first responders is just the latest incident involving volunteer groups in the region.
In the past year, groups including the coastguard and Banff’s own first responders have been hit by similar incidents.
Last month, volunteers of Fraseburgh Coastguard were left with a cleaning bill after a man broke into their offices to steal fizzy drinks and a battery charger.
Paul Morrice, from the town, had also broken into the crew’s vehicle between September 7-9 and left a trail of blood around the station which took the group offline.
He confessed to being responsible for the theft at Peterhead Sheriff Court after being apprehended by police.
Several months earlier, another thief broke into the coastguard offices and stole the group’s laptop which it relied on for weather and emergency updates.
The person responsible has never been identified.
And a 19-year-old man was also recently charged after a defibrillator cabinet was vandalised in Banff.
And last year, charity boxes for the RNLI were stolen across Macduff – from local takeaways and the lifeboat station itself.
At the time, coxswain Chassey Findlay said it was “upsetting” that someone would steal from a charity.
“These funds were for Macduff lifeboat to continue its work saving lives at sea and educating people to respect the water,” he added.
