Thieves who "borrowed" go-karts to go home asked to come forward

Thursday 03 August 2017

The owner of Amaizin! Adventure Park is calling for the people who stole two go-karts on Monday night and abandoned them in St. Peter the following day with a note saying they needed "a way home", to come forward to avoid prosecution.

Kristina Le Feuvre, who owns the park with her husband Carlton, is not convinced the letter is genuine and wants to speak to the thieves so they can "fully understand their actions."

The go-karts were stolen during the night with the owners arriving to "devastation" on Tuesday morning. In a post shared on the park's Facebook page, they wrote: "The park has been broken into overnight and we believe the intruders entered via Route Des Augerez. The go-kart track has been deliberately and maliciously trashed. We have three John Deere go-karts missing and we believe these have been removed and used along Route Des Augerez at some point during the night."

The go-karts were retrieved on Tuesday just after 17:00, following a series of phone calls from islanders who saw them lying on the side of the road at Le Mont des Grupieux. They were found with an apologetic letter explaining that they had been "borrowed as the thieves "were out late and needed a way home." "We didn't intend for the upset and worry this has caused," continuous the anonymous letter, "We are deeply sorry and we hope the people of Jersey can forgive us. We had no intentions of causing any damage or destruction and had intentions to return them later tonight. Once again we are sorry for everything and on our behalf we should never do any thing like it again."

Pictured: "The letter of apology left on one of the stolen go-karts.

With adjustable seats and proper tyres, the go-karts can "technically" be used on the road, although Mrs Le Feuvre says "she wouldn't like a car to come across one of them."

The park owner is not convinced the letter is "genuine." She told Express: "I am not entirely sure of the validity of the letter. I think it is a red herring to throw us off the scent. The basis is probably correct in the sense that it was 04:00 and they needed a ride home, but the karts weren't lying on the side of the road. It was deliberate, they crossed numerous fields and fences to get to us."

The damage caused by the thieves has been estimated to be £1,000, this includes damage caused to the fence but not "the loss of time spent dealing with this." While two go-karts were stolen, a third one was found smashed into a fence. "They are all quite battered. If they were being used in a domestic setting, they would be usable, but not for a commercial usage where the quality and level of care are higher."

Pictured: The late-night "borrowers" caused £1,000 of damage to the go-karts.

Luckily, the park keeps spare parts for the karts and will be able to patch them up easily, but Mrs Le Feuvre says it is not the point. "The fact is we have had to deal with this. It is a few man hours we spent talking to the Police, replying to messages on social media and going to retrieve the karts. It all adds up and it is a loss of the Police time as well."

On Tuesday, Mrs Le Feuvre thanked the "people who took the karts" for returning them in a Facebook post. She added: "We really do hope you learn a lesson from this. If you don't already, one day you will have a job or own your own business. To see the consequences of someone's thoughtless actions on the staff would make you think twice. We love what we do and actions like these hit us all personally, we appreciate the apology and we will have a think about how we take this forward overnight."

To avoid unnecessary prosecutions, Mrs Le Feuvre is now asking the go-kart "borrowers" to come forward. "I don't think they fully understand the repercussions this could have on their future if they are prosecuted. They need to come and speak to us to avoid legal prosecution. I'd rather speak to them than see them at a Parish Hall enquiry or at the Magistrate's Court."