A St Marys family owned podiatry clinic has captured footage of a vandal waving to security cameras before tearing down their sign.
Owner of A Step Ahead, Dr Brenden Brown, is frustrated after reviewing footage of a man jumping over their locked gate before causing the damage last weekend.
“I came in on the Sunday to do extra work and I arrived to see the sign over the carport was on the ground and placed up against the fence,” he said.
Dr Brown couldn’t understand why the sign was neatly placed until he watched the videos.
“He walks up to the camera and tries to pull it off. He then walks down the ramp and looks up, we felt he was trying to jump on the roof,” he said.
“That’s when the sign that’s been there for 18 months to two years released under his weight and he fell on his back.”
The incident occurred late on Saturday night and isn’t the first vandal Dr Brown has had to deal with.
“I was just dumbfounded. We’ve had in the past six months someone try to break in to our property, we’ve had people who we watched on camera come and steal our plants from the front yard and now this,” he said.
“I’m just pissed off. I’m over it. While they think it’s nothing and this guy might think it’s a joke, it actually costs my family money.
“It all adds up and I’m tired of paying for it.”
When he contacted the police to report the incident, Dr Brown was surprised with the dismissive response he received.
It took over 24 hours and a second phone call before police attended the business.
On Monday a man came to the clinic explaining that he was responsible and Dr Brown offered for him to make amends and help compensate the business.
“I’d welcome him to come back and pay the cost of the signage,” he said.
Emily Newton
Emily Newton is the Weekender's police and political reporter. Emily is also the Weekender's Senior Journalist.