In a shocking incident in Livingston, a stolen van was torched, obliterating a collection of WWII drawings valued approximately at £500,000, originally from the Royal Engineers Museum archive.
Authorities are currently on the lookout for a criminal who hijacked a van and later set it on fire, unknowingly ruining historical drawings inside that were valued at £500K.
A masked individual commandeered the silver Ford Transit late at night around 11:30 PM in Heron Square, Livingston, on November 19. The next day, the van was found ablaze and had been stripped of its parts.
It appears that the thief was unaware that the van contained 1,500 historic drawings, worth over £500k, which have now been destroyed.
The Royal Engineers Museum in Kent has confirmed the theft and destruction of a van containing 1,742 WWII-era technical drawings and plans.
These drawings, valued around half a million pounds, were part of a broader collection that included plans for D-Day Mulberry Harbours, railways, and bridges.
Rebecca Nash, the director of the Royal Engineers Museum, stated: “The plans had just arrived at a company in Scotland for digitization when the vehicle they were in was stolen and subsequently set on fire.”
“Based on information provided by Scottish Police we understand that the drawings and plans were on the van when it was destroyed.
“We were notified of the loss on the 20th November and have since been working closely with Scottish police to ascertain the full details of the incident.
“Police enquiries are still ongoing, and we would of course welcome any information that may be of help in finding the perpetrators.
“We would also be extremely pleased to recover any of the items should they have escaped destruction.
“We understand that thankfully no members of public or company staff were injured in the incident.