When Greg Crawford, 56, realized he had left his camera behind on a bench at Barra Airport last month, he wasn’t too worried.
He had a friend working on the ferry who was heading back to the airport and could check when he returned.
He did, only to find the £2,000 piece of equipment gone.
Afterwards, Livingston-based Mr Crawford posted on various Facebook community pages, expecting someone would return the camera.
He said: “We have visited before, and with the nature of people on Barra we expected it would turn up.”
But there was no word, until Mr Crawford got a call from Castlebay Police Station, who had some bizarre news.
Police at the station had received a letter, postmarked from England with the following message: “We found a camera at the bench on Barra Airport on the 6th of September.
“We decided that we would keep it as it was obviously meant to be found by us …. and we sold it to fund our holiday. We believe this was karma.
“We have returned the memory card as we realise there will be memories of somebody’s holiday in there.”
The peculiar confession left police “astounded,” according to Mr Crawford.
He told The P&J: “I’m still laughing… You just can’t take it seriously, I’m amazed.”
Mr Crawford had spent the first three days of a two-week Hebrides motorhome tour with his wife Julie on Barra and had planned specific photographs he wanted to take throughout the trip.
He said: “We were on a bit of a downer, but we just had to give our head a wobble and not let it spoil the holiday.”
Camera theft hasn’t put couple off returning to Barra
An avid amateur photographer of 20 years, Mr Crawford’s camera, a Nikon DS200, is not manufactured anymore.
The lens and extra battery kit meant it was worth around £2,000.
Unfortunately his loss wasn’t covered by his insurance and he was forced to fork out for a replacement.
Despite the bad luck, Mr Crawford said: “It hasn’t put us off going back to Barra.
“Of all the islands in the Hebrides, it’s the one we said we definitely want to go back to.”
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “On Tuesday, 3 October, 2023, a letter was received at Barra Police Station containing the memory card from the camera.
“This will be returned to the owner and further enquiries remain ongoing.”
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