Vandals have trashed a boarded up department store in Kirkcaldy town centre.

The damage inside the former Debenhams store was discovered this morning when the organisers of the Artisan Market opened the doors to set up their stalls which had been stored there. Wall panels in a corridor had been town down, mannequins smashed, and blue hair dye thrown on a wall. A tin man sculpture owned by Kirk Wynd based business WR&P, and also stored in the premises, was one of several items stolen.

Vandals have targeted a number of boarded up former stores along the pedestrianised precinct in recent months, including the neighbouring former New Look store, and ransacking the empty buildings.

The stores are owned by developer Tahir Ali who experienced similar problems with The Postings Shopping Centre after it closed - the damaged caused by break-ins and vandalism got so bad he had to brick up the inside of every entrance to try to keep them out.

Mannequins were smashed and wall panels were torn down inside the empty department store (Pic: Fife Free Press)

placeholder image — Mannequins were smashed and wall panels were torn down inside the empty department store (Pic: Fife Free Press)

Colin Salmond-Wallace, who sets up the gazebos for the regular Friday market, described the damage as a “ horrible slap in the face.”

“The owner of the old Debenhams department store has been kind enough to let us use those premises to store all the market equipment for the last year,” he said. “It’s a system that works really well. Imagine my absolute horror when I turned up at 7:00am to find the whole place had been ransacked in the night. Mannequins have been smashed, blue paint has been sprayed everywhere, wall panels have been torn off, there is damage and destruction everywhere.

"I can only imagine it’s the same individuals who have been regularly breaking in and vandalising the old New Look store as well as the underpass at the old Postings entrance who are responsible. “He said a marked rise in anti-social behaviour was of concern to town centre businesses: “Something needs to be done about this. It is impossible to defend and it feels like it will only get worse during the summer months.

“I challenged them politely once a couple of weeks ago and a whole pack of them followed me down the wynd hurling abuse and projectiles. It is truly vile.

“I don’t know what the answer is but it’s only a matter of time before somebody is injured or much worse. Some of us are working very hard to regenerate Kirkcaldy and make it great again and I’m proud of the work we’re doing. I wonder who is proud of the vandals, other than themselves.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers received a report of a break-in and theft from a premises on High Street, Kirkcaldy, which is believed to have happened over night. Enquiries are ongoing.”