It was 10:26 p.m., on the night of Thursday to Friday, when the mayor of Fors, Alain Canteau, received an alert telling him that the technical services alarm had gone off a minute earlier. The chosen one then hurried to get there. Barely ten minutes later, he was on the scene, but could only deplore the damage. “They took five minutes”notes the mayor, supporting video surveillance images.
Sheared fence, broken gate
In five minutes, the criminals cut the fence surrounding the site and broke down a gate using the car in which they arrived. They then forced the doors of the building. In the office, they stole the vehicle keys. They also stole equipment used by officers (leaf vacuum, chainsaw, etc.) as well as compressors.
Then they left in their car and two municipal vehicles: a Kangoo and a dump truck. The latter acted as a ram vehicle to break down another gate, thus allowing the burglars to escape.
The criminals broke down a second gate.
© (Photo municipality of Fors)
The loss for the municipality of some 1,800 souls is considerable. “Economically, for the municipality, it will be catastrophic”worries the mayor. He estimates that the property damage amounts to at least €50,000, even though the premises were inaugurated just two years ago in the Grolettes artisanal area.
As for the stolen equipment, Alain Canteau knows that he will be able to count on solidarity between municipalities so that the agents can work. On the other hand, if the stolen vehicles are not found, the elected official believes that “it’s still a €40,000 note” that we will have to go out. He filed a complaint at the beginning of the afternoon with the gendarmerie.
His counterpart in Fressines made the same approach to the police, the premises of the municipality's technical services having also been the target of burglars the same night, around midnight. The break-ins were discovered Friday morning, around 7:30 a.m. The criminals used a crowbar to enter the building, located at the exit of the town. Two vehicles were stolen, a dump truck and a Ford Connect, as well as a trailer with a brush cutter and a lot of tools (chainsaw, blower, etc.).
Burglary in Brûlain a few days before
A few days earlier, on the night of Sunday November 3 to Monday November 4, the technical services hangar of the town of Brûlain was also “visited”. The mayor, Alain Lecointe, explains that the burglars forced an entrance door for staff. Here again, the damage is significant for the municipality. A utility vehicle was stolen as well as almost all of the tools and equipment, including a ride-on mower. It was municipal agents who discovered the misdeeds Monday morning, said the elected official. The mayor filed a complaint with the police.
