An Edinburgh intensive care nurse has described the heart-breaking moment she realised her cherished car had been stolen from her street.
Sarya Perkins, 31, was shocked when she discovered her 2007 Land Rover Defender was no longer parked in the Broughton Street area of the capital last Sunday.
Police were called to the scene and are currently investigating the vehicle’s whereabouts. The nurse said she has a strong personal relationship with the car, adding that she initially doubted herself when the car was no longer where she had parked it.
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Sarya told Edinburgh Live : “It’s really sad. I’ve had all my adventures around Scotland in it. It’s a Defender, so it’s troublesome. You have to replace all the parts. It’s had a lot of love and care.
“It wasn’t until the Sunday evening when we went to move it that we realised it was gone. I was questioning if we even parked it there. Then it dawned on me we definitely had parked it there and it was gone.”
After quickly confirming with multiple neighbours that the striking vehicle had been parked there on Saturday, the realisation that her car had been stolen sunk in for Sarya.
She continued: “I was in disbelief. The following few days, I got really angry. I work as a nurse in the intensive care unit and I saved really hard for it. We saved really hard for it.
“Someone’s now got something for nothing that I worked really hard for. It was a mixture of feeling angry and upset, but determined to find my car as well.”
Having picked it up from a farm five years ago, Sarya and her partner have put the Defender to good use by lending a hand to others in times of need.
“When we’ve had bad snow over the past couple of years, it was really helpful. People were stuck and it was this old thing that would keep on going through the snow. It helped people get into work.”
An Edinburgh local for 12 years, Sarya said the farm car reminded her of fond childhood memories of growing up in the countryside.
Getting the car back would not only make her hour-long journeys to her shifts in the hospital far easier, but a reunion would also delight her in a personal sense.
She said: “It would mean everything to get it back. I’m not interested in the insurance replacement, or the value of the money. I just want my car back.
“I’ve replaced almost everything in it - the engine, the gearbox. It’s really personal to me. Every day I’m trying to do something. I’m taking advice, posting to different forums, going out looking for it on my days off – anything I can do to try and get it back.”
Police Scotland are continuing to carry out enquiries after the car disappeared on Sunday May 29 in the Broughton Street area.
A spokeswoman added: “Anyone who knows where the vehicle is now, should contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting 2710 of 29 May.”
