A high school in Midlothian has issued a warning after 15 mountain bikes were stolen by a group of youths on Friday.
Newbattle High School took to social media to appeal for information from the public, claiming someone with knowledge of how to access the space where the bikes were stored, may have helped.
CCTV footage showed three young people clad in all black stealing the bikes that were used by Nurture pupils.
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Some of the bicycles were only three weeks old and the school say they are vital to them being able to deliver services.
They say the police are aware of the issue and are conducting an investigation into the incident.
The bikes are understood to have distinct markings that identify each vehicle.
The school posted on Facebook that: “Unfortunately we had all 15 of our mountain bikes stolen last Friday in the early hours.
“The bikes and all of our equipment were stolen by three youths dressed in black, from our locked area which has CCTV.
“Some bikes were only 3 weeks old, widely used by our Nurture pupils and our school is devastated that this has happened.
“It has a direct impact on what we can deliver, heightens suspicion and is the first time we have experienced anything like this in our recent years.
“It is a live police investigation who will track CCTV (here and elsewhere), check for prints and also check the areas where the thieves will try and sell these bikes.
“They all have registered markings and we have passed these and the serial numbers across to relevant parties.
“It is upsetting that someone with knowledge has helped to break into this discreet and secure area.
“As a school, we try to provide the best equipment for our students so that they have the best experiences and our mountain bikes were no different.
“We are already receiving information regarding this. If you have any information, see any social media posts or see these being sold on websites, shop notice boards etc then please contact the police on 101 - incident number 1689 16/05/2022 - school or staff in confidence”
Police Scotland were contacted for comment.
