Hole in the wall raid smells like deja vu to Perth florist

Oct 14 2011 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

INTRUDERS who took the ‘long way round’ to break into a Perth florist were being hunted by police yesterday.

Rather than simply break a window on the street, crooks smashed an entry hole in the exterior wall of McIntyres at Fair City Flowers on George Street.

After squeezing through the hole they forced open a door to reach the basement before finally clambering into the actual shop.

Despite the elaborate and destructive method of entry, the thieves did not smell the roses, only getting away with relatively slim pickings.

A Tayside Police spokesman said intruders smashed open a till and grabbed more than £100, also helping themselves to a Sony Vio laptop worth £400.

“It was certainly an unusual method of entry, very strange,” he said yesterday.

“We do have a positive line of inquiry but are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the area between 5pm on Tuesday and 8.30am on Wednesday.

Mhairi McDonal, who runs the business with husband Iain, said: “We’ve been in this shop just over three years as our last premises, McIntyres in North Methven Street, was burnt to the ground three-and-a-half years ago by someone who’d got into the basement and set a fire.

“The fire also took out another shop next door, a hairdressers, and three floors of flats.

“It was a horrific experience really. We tried to find a way of working from home for a while and then this business came up for sale so we bought it and merged the two businesses.”

Mrs McDonald, whose shop sponsors new Saints striker Fran Sandaza, said that when she alerted on Wednesday morning by her shop manager about the bizarre break-in she could scarcely believe it.

“It was like deja vu,” she said.

“They destroyed my till, stole money and took my laptop, which had all my work-related stuff on it, including the Interflora system – but they were able to take orders via telephone.

“Nothing was backed up so it’s a headache, another nightmare, and I’m not happy at all. It’s just not needed.”

She said the repair bill for damage done by intruders was still to be assessed.