Murdoch Brothers Butchers, Forres report youths climbing factory roof to police
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A LOCAL businessman is disappointed with what he believes was an inadequate response to an incident that could have resulted in the death of a teenager.
Forres community councillor Graham Murdoch told the group’s last meeting that his brother Ronnie had reported three youths on the roof of their business, Murdoch Brothers Butchers, 10 High Street at 8.14pm on Wednesday, April 14, but was still to hear back from the police.
Graham said: “My brother saw three kids – they looked about 13 – on the roof of the factory at the back of our shop. They’d lifted a stepladder from the close next door and used it to climb a shipping container that Anderson’s Primary use to store equipment, then up onto our roof. It’s about 25-feet up so they were at risk of serious injury if they fell.”
The Murdochs removed the ladder while one of the boys was still on the roof, and called the police.
“His mates in the playground persuaded him to jump back onto the container and down before they took off towards the park,” said Graham. “There were around 20 other youths gathered there at that time.”
The ladders have since been stored away and Moray Council has confirmed the container will be moved to a more secure location.
Police Scotland confirmed they were called.
A spokesman said: “Officers attended. There was no trace of anyone on arrival and no criminality was established.”
Graham added: “The police called me back later, but said they were attending another incident and would pay me a visit on the following day. Folk are going to give up reporting incidents to the police. They say they have adequate cover, but they don’t have the numbers any longer to attend immediately.”
