A CITY store has been ordered to drop its
“we take anything’ slogan after police complained it could attract thieves wanting to pass off stolen goods.
We-Pay is in Leith Walk, Edinburgh, the city’s number one hotspot for home break-ins.
The business buys items including CDs and books and then recycles the goods in Eastern Europe.
But the slogan in the shop window –
“We take almost anything you can get your hands on’ – has upset police trying to battle a housebreaking epidemic in the area.
They complained that the slogan would
“attract petty criminals attempting to dispose of stolen goods for instant cash.”
Police formally complained when the store applied for a new licence to trade as second-hand dealers.
Terncove Ltd, a business based in Bathgate, West Lothian, which trade as We-Pay, agreed to remove the offending words from the window.
But shop manager Thomas Coll denied they were a magnet for criminals. He said:
“We cannot foresee a situation where a criminal would sell us stolen goods. We have not experienced this at any of our other branches. “
Leith Walk has more break-ins to homes than any other part of the city. Almost 200 were recorded in 2010/11, considerably more than the 133 recorded in Wester Hailes, Sighthill and Gorgie areas of the city.
Councillor Ron Cairns, who chaired the licensing committee, said:
“They didn’t realise how bad it sounded. As soon as police pointed out how bad it sounded they agreed to change the wording. “
