Anna Higginbottom and Peter Lesisz were robbed of around £60,000 as they prepared to return home to Scotland.
Anna and Peter have been robbed of “everything”(Image: Supplied)
A young Scots couple have been left stranded and in Spain after ruthless thieves ransacked their car in a devastating £60,000 heist.
“Heartbroken” Anna Higginbottom, 27, and her partner Peter Lesisz, 26, had been due to catch a ferry from Bilbao to Portsmouth on Tuesday as they made their way back to Scotland from the Spanish town of Denia – where Anna had been living and working.
The pair stayed in a hostel in Bilbao on Monday night, reassured by staff that the car park had CCTV and was secure. However, by morning, their vehicle had been broken into via the passenger door and had been completely cleaned out by crooks.
“We’ve been left with only our phones and each other,” said a distraught Anna. “It’s a disaster. We have nothing left. We’re just completely devastated.”
The couple are appealing for help(Image: Supplied)
The couple estimate the total loss at around £60,000, with Peter losing around £55,000 worth of rare, specialist car tuning equipment for his Alpine Performance business. This also included pen drives containing a database of custom engine software files built over eight years.
“Peter’s worked years to build this business,” said holistic wellness coach Anna. “That equipment isn’t just expensive – it’s his entire livelihood. He’s one of the best in the UK at what he does.
“He has not stopped crying. I’ve never seen him like this. It’s heartbreaking.”
Anna’s losses, valued at around £5,000, included expensive jewellery, clothing, sentimental photos and items from her late mother.
Some of Peter’s equipment which was stolen(Image: Supplied)
She said: “That’s what hurts most. The sentimental things – they’re just gone. They can’t be replaced.”
To make matters worse, Peter’s passport was also stolen, meaning the couple missed their ferry. Peter must now travel a 10-hour round trip to Madrid to get a temporary passport using money borrowed from family.
The couple have even had to rely on the Spanish social services for emergency accommodation and food.
Anna continued: “The police haven’t helped us. There’s such a language barrier. We’ve had to do our own investigation. One of my cards was used locally, and we even found the shop. They told us that it was a Moroccan man.
“We’re terrified that the longer this goes on, the less chance we have of seeing our stuff again.”
The pair have been left so desperate they’ve even considered searching dangerous neighbourhoods themselves.
Anna says they have been left “devastated”(Image: Supplied)
She added: “Locals warned us we could be stabbed or attacked if we went looking in these areas, so we’re scared and out of options.
“We have done everything we can, but we don’t want to put our lives at risk doing our own investigation.”
The couple are looking to GoFundMe for help(Image: Supplied)
In a final effort to rebuild, the couple have launched a GoFundMe to try and recover some of the staggering loss.
In a post online, Anna wrote: “We never thought we’d be in this position Even £5 would mean the world.”
If you’d like to support Peter and Anna, you can visit their GoFundMe, here – https://gofund.me/837db8a7.
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