Thieves who stole couple's £2,000 camera said it was 'karma'

Couple who had £2,000 camera stolen after leaving it on a bench at Scottish island are sent a letter from thieves saying it was ‘karma’ and it paid for a holiday (but return the memory card so they can keep their photos)

A couple whose £2,000 camera was stolen received a letter from the thieves saying it was ‘karma’ and the gadget paid for their holiday. 

Greg Crawford, 56, from Livingston, Scotland, left his expensive device on a bench on the island of Barra during a holiday tour of the Outer Hebrides with his wife Julie.

The couple had taken a seat to enjoy the view of the island’s small airstrip, setting their camera next to them – but forgot to pick it back up.

They realised their mistake after leaving the island and the couple quickly contacted a friend who worked at the destination.

After investigating, the friend came back empty-handed, so the desperate couple took to local Facebook pages and urged people to come forward if the camera was found.

Greg Crawford, 56, from Livingston, Scotland, left his expensive device on a bench on the island of Barra during a holiday tour of the Outer Hebrides with his wife Julie

The desperate couple took to local Facebook pages and urged people to come forward if the camera was found. Pictured: Photos from their trip to Barra

After weeks of waiting for information, Mr Crawford received a phone call on October 3 from the Barra police.

A letter had arrived at the station containing the couple’s memory card as well as a typed note from the thieves.

It claimed the thieves had been ‘meant to find the camera’ and that they had used the money to pay for a holiday.

It read: ‘We found a camera at the bench on Barra Airport on the 6th of September.

‘We decided that we would keep it as it was obviously meant to be found by us…and we sold it to fund our holiday. We believe this was karma.

‘We have returned the memory card as we realise there will be memories of somebody’s holiday in there.’ 

Mr Crawford said: ‘We were on holiday with our motorhome to tour the Outer Hebrides, starting with Barra.

‘Around the time we were leaving, we decided to have another run down to the beach to watch the planes landing and taking off.

‘We went down to the bench at the end of the runway on the beach. We parked the motorhome behind the bench.

Mr Crawford said that he and his wife parked their motorhome behind the beach. Pictured: Photos from their trip to Barra

The couple had taken a seat to enjoy the view of the island’s small airstrip setting their camera next to them – and forgot to pick it back up. Pictured: Photos from their trip to Barra

 ‘My wife sat on the left side of the bench, and I sat on the right – but when we went to leave, the camera was still sat between us and neither of us realised.

‘We went to the ferry, but when we got off on the other side, we realised that we didn’t have the camera.

READ MORE: Man is flown to hospital after being surrounded and attacked by a herd of cows on beach on the picturesque island of Barra

‘I have a friend who is a crew member on the ferry, so I contacted him. He went back to the bench to check – but it was gone.

‘We posted on Facebook and nothing ever came of it – until Tuesday last week.

‘We received a phone call from Barra Police. The policewoman I spoke to told me she had good news and bad news – I thought they’d found the camera.

‘She went on to explain that they had received a typed letter inside an envelope sealed with tape.

‘The letter said that these people found the camera on the bench – but believed it was a sign for them to fund their holidays. 

‘The postmark on the letter was from England – so it was probably a tourist.

‘They believed that it was meant to happen, so they took the camera, and they sold it on.

‘They said they felt guilty because there were photographs on the memory card, so they returned the memory card to the police. 

‘We couldn’t believe it – how can anybody think like that?’

Now reunited with his memory card – but sadly, lacking his camera, Mr Crawford and his wife have begun to see the funny side of the situation.

A letter arrived at the station containing the couple’s memory card as well as a typed note from the thieves. Pictured: Photos from their trip to Barra

Luckily, the couple still love the Outer Hebrides and plan to return again – once Mr Crawford has replaced his equipment. Pictured: photos from the trip to the island of Barra

Mr Crawford and his wife got their memory card back, but they are now left without a camera. Pictured: photos from the trip to the island of Barra

Luckily, the couple still love the Outer Hebrides and plan to return again – once Mr Crawford has replaced his equipment.

‘I’m going to replace it with a second-hand version of the same camera because they don’t make that one anymore,’ said Mr Crawford.

‘My insurance company wouldn’t cover it because it was an unattended loss. It was my own fault, I can’t blame anybody – but it’s quite an incredible story.

‘It was our second time back in the Outer Hebrides because we loved it the first time – it’s an amazing place.

‘We still had a really good time – and we’ll definitely be back.’

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