Reward offered following computer theft

A £1500 reward has been offered for the recovery of stolen computer equipment containing vital information about the HMS Royal Oak war grave in Scapa Flow.

Police in Orkney describe the incident as a “sneak-in theft” when entry was gained to a property in the Ferry Road area of Stromness sometime between 2.30am and 9.30am on Sunday.

Local dive boat operator Emily Wade has circulated an online appeal and reward information following the theft, explaining: “Over the past few months we have been surveying the Royal Oak ahead of the 80th anniversary. Some of you will know about this already and the official press release was due to go out this week. We are an entirely volunteer group, the project and all of the equipment has been self funded and the imagery will be shared for free. We were so excited to start sharing images from this amazing wreck and grave with you all.”

She added: “However, last night one of our team was burgled in Stromness and a huge amount of irreplaceable Royal Oak survey data was stolen along with two underwater torches, a DELL 28″ 4K computer monitor, two hard drives and a very distinctive custom made laptop. The laptop is set to the Finnish language.”

Commenting on the theft, Inspector Keith Bendall said: “This is an unusual incident in Orkney and we would urge anyone who has information which could assist our enquiries to come forward.”

Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident NK97/19, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.