Staff at New Hope Trust, based at Faith Acres on the outskirts of town, arrived at work last Monday to find the fuel caps on two trucks broken and strewn across the car park, with no fuel left in the tanks.

Trust assistant general manager, Mark Morgan, said last week that the charity was devastated at how low people could stoop, and was now looking at installing CCTV cameras as a matter of urgency.

Speaking to the Buchanie, Mr Morgan said: "We couldn't believe our eyes when we arrived for work on Monday morning and were faced with smashed fuel caps and trucks which had been siphoned of fuel.

"It must have happened at some point over the weekend and probably in the wee small hours of the morning, as through the day this place is relatively busy with visitors to the Charity Barn.



"The trucks were parked in their usual stance just out in the carpark, so were relatively easily accessible, but we can't believe that someone has actually done this."

Mr Morgan said the trucks - a 16-tonne and a 7.5 tonne - were filled with several hundred pounds of fuel, all of which had been drained from the tanks.

"These trucks aren't cheap to run and the large truck takes around £250 to £300 to fill with fuel, so it's a big hit for us to take," he said.

"We reported the incident to the police, but without any witnesses it will be hard for them to find the culprits. But whoever they are should be ashamed of themselves, stealing from a charity.

"We are now seriously looking at getting CCTV installed as a matter of urgency in the hope that nothing like this will happen again," he said.

"It's a shame that a charity has to take such measures in order to protect itself, but unfortunately, that's what we need to do," he added.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident is asked to contact Grampian Police on 0845 600 5700 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.