By Gabriella Payne
Lockdown number six wasn’t the only bit of bad news that local business owner Ryan Jolliffe woke up to this morning, after he discovered that one of his excavators had been stolen by thieves overnight.
Mr Jolliffe, from Jolliffe Plumbing, said that in the early hours on Friday 6 August, two thieves had broken into the school grounds at Beaconsfield’s St Francis Xavier College and stolen his excavator from a worksite.
“This morning at about 4.10am the school gate was broken into and it seems two gentlemen gained entry and got into the worksite compound,” Mr Jolliffe said.
“[It appears] they’ve then dragged the small excavator through the school and onto the road, where a white Mitsubishi Triton has rocked up, and they quickly loaded it and drove off,” he said.
Mr Jolliffe said that the news of the theft was definitely “not a great start” to the day and although police were currently investigating the crime, it would still be a blow to his business.
“We do have insurance, but there’s a big process involved obviously and if it’s not found, we’ve got to order another one – and there’s about a three month wait on machines anyway,” he explained, due to the pandemic.
“So our work will definitely be impacted.”
The stolen excavator is very distinctive in appearance, being a teal colour and having the Jolliffe Plumbing logo plastered all over it.
Mr Jolliffe said that the culprits had been spotted on CCTV and the police were currently investigating the crime, but also urged anyone with information about the theft to contact the police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
