A dumper truck worth £25,000 has been stolen from a construction site in Lochaber as work continues to improve the ‘road to the Isles’.
The six tonne yellow truck, belonging to Bear Scotland, was stolen from the company’s site on the A830 at Arieniskill – eight miles west of Glenfinnan – as construction continues to replace Criche Bridge over Allt Na Criche.
The incident is believed to have taken place sometime between 5.30pm on Friday and 7am on Monday, with culprits gaining entry before removing the truck with the registration SE17 ZBD.
A spokesperson for BEAR Scotland said: “Our contractor working on our A830 Criche Bridge replacement project had one of their dumper trucks stolen from site at the weekend.
“The vehicle had been involved with construction during the bridge replacement project at Criche Bridge, where a new, wider bridge has been constructed over nine months to replace the old bridge on the route.
“The project at Criche Bridge is in the final stages of construction so the theft will not impact on the timetable of the works, with the bridge expected to be fully open next month.
“The incident was reported to Police Scotland who are dealing with it.”
The £10 million project was commissioned by Transport Scotland in May last year to replace seven bridges along the route and widen the existing structures.
Design is underway for the next bridge replacement at Shlatach, with construction expected to begin this year.
Following the theft, police are appealing for information.
Detective Constable Liam Devine said: “Our enquiries are on-going and I would urge anybody who saw a vehicle matching this description being moved in the area over the weekend to get in touch.
“I would also ask anybody who noticed any suspicious activity by people or vehicles in the area to get in touch.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact Police in Fort William on 101. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
