West Fife: Colin Sneddon Funeral Directors in Fife broken into on New Year's Day

As the bells struck midnight, the alarm sounded at Colin Sneddon Funeral Directors' premises at Woodend Industrial Estate in Cowdenbeath.

The outside door was kicked in, as was the internal door for the mortuary.

Thankfully, nothing was stolen and there were no deceased in the room at the time of the break-in.

A nearby resident allegedly saw two men fleeing from the estate and leaving in a car.

Colin Sneddon told the Times this afternoon that the disgusting act has caused 'hurt and pain' to himself, his staff and the local community.

"It just shows you how deprived some people can be," he said.

"I got a call from police at around half past 12 this morning, to say that there had been a break-in at the mortuary.

"I got my keys and went down. It's the mortuary itself, not the offices (on Station Road).

"They have kicked in the front door and the enforced internal door which has a keypad for entry.

"I've since been told that a resident who lives opposite heard the alarm going off and they saw two men running out and into a car."

When asked by the Times what his initial reaction was to the phone call that made him aware of the break-in, he said: "I was really shocked and disgusted.

"I couldn't believe it.

"To me, it seems pre-planned. The alarm went off right on 12, for the bells. There's lots of fireworks going on at that time so they may have done it then so the alarm wasn't heard.

"There's nothing in the mortuary to steal. There wasn't any deceased in there, either."

The Cowdenbeath community has been shocked by the incident with dozens of people leaving messages of support for Colin, his staff and the business as a whole.

"The community feels the same pain and anger that I'm feeling," Colin said.

"We've joined together in sharing this hurt. Like me, they can't believe it either."

The business will now face an expense to replace the damaged doors and to make security upgrades.

The damage caused by those who targeted Colin Sneddon Funeral Directors.

The damage caused by those who targeted Colin Sneddon Funeral Directors.