An Aberdeen business owner has given a group of vandals the chance to come forward and seek forgiveness.
A group of teenagers are believed to have attempted to break into Café 52, on The Green in Aberdeen, shortly after 5pm on Sunday.
While the trio did not make it through the doors and into the property, they did “wrestle” one of the CCTV cameras off the restaurant’s outer wall.
As they did so, they failed to notice a second CCTV camera, the footage from which was inspected by Café 52’s owner, Steven Bothwell, the next day.
He said: “I must have literally missed them by seconds on Sunday when they attempted to break in.
“They were probably waiting for me to leave.
“It was on Monday morning that I came back and noticed the damage.
“Cables were dangling down from where the CCTV camera had been ripped off.
“I went to go check on the other camera and trawled through hours of footage to find out what had happened.”
Now in the possession of clear CCTV images of the teenagers, Mr Bothwell decided to forgo calling the police, for the time-being, and has instead given the culprits a chance at redemption.
Posting a public appeal on Facebook, he has asked the perpetrators to come forward and pay up £100 to fix the broken CCTV camera.
He said: “People seem to really appreciate what I’m doing and have responded well on social media.
“Everyone goes through a negative phase when they’re young and do something stupid.
“I don’t want to permanently ruin these guys’ lives by getting them a record so early on, but if you’re caught, you’re caught.
“I’ve given them the chance to come forward.”
Mr Bothwell, 47, has however decided that if he has not heard anything within five days, then he will look to take the matter further.
He said: “We’ve all made silly mistakes – I know I did when I was young – but there’s always time to fix them.
“The trio can come forward, or pop a letter through the door – it is up to them.
“I’ll take no further action after that, and I’d be impressed at their decision to make amends.
“I’d even buy them a burger in Union Square as a thank you.”
