8:21 am, August 20, 2024
The co-founder of a luxury used car dealership has posted footage of the devastation caused when masked men ransacked the showroom before making off with two cars.
Whitson Prestige in Newport, south Wales, was targeted about 4am on Sunday, with a BMW X3 M and Mercedes C43 taken.
CCTV caught the two men at the dealership, who left a trail of destruction around the site, smashing a large window and destroying office furniture.
They then broke into a key box and prised open a garage door to make off with the two cars, together worth £85,000, reported the South Wales Argus.
Rory Collingbourne, who co-founded the dealership with dad Jon, said in the video posted on Instagram, which was subsequently deleted: ‘This isn’t only our showroom but this is our family home. Words cannot describe how upset and cross we are right now.’
He also appealed for help in finding the cars, whose registration numbers are LC71 VDX for the BMW, and RF19 JVN for the Mercedes.
A reward is being offered by the Collingbourne family for anyone who lets them or Gwent Police have relevant details about the thieves. The police can be contacted on 101.
A spokesperson for the dealership was quoted as saying: ‘We are completely devastated by this incident.
‘As a family-run business, we have worked incredibly hard over the years to build a strong reputation for the sale of prestige and sports cars across the UK, and we take immense pride in delivering the highest standard of customer service to our clients every single day.
‘To discover the extensive damage and the loss of vehicles on Sunday morning was devastating.’
It is understood that the break-in was the latest in a series of thefts from car dealers in the area over the past few weeks.
This story was originally published at 8.21am on 20th August 2024 and updated at 8.06am on 21st August following the deletion of the Instagram post.
Main images from now-deleted Instagram post by Rory Collingbourne. Composite copyright © Blackball Media 2024
