A MUSICIAN who survived a car crash near Lochwinnoch has said she is in “disbelief” after having her personal belongings nicked from the wreckage.
Melissa Bradd crashed her vehicle on the A760 near the RSPB Centre on Friday, June 30, when she was travelling to Kelburn Garden Party with a friend.
The incident occurred after the 41-year-old’s car skidded off the road and into an island reservation, a road sign, and then a tree before flipping into a ditch.
Escaping the wreckage, Melissa and her friend, Emily, were left with slight injuries.
She said: “We were both really quite shaken and Emily was really shocked.
“I remember just trying to process what was going on and what happened.”
After the incident, the pair headed to the festival and on the way back on Monday, July 3, Melissa said she stopped at the scene to see if she could collect some of her belongings.
The musician, who is also a university student, said: “When approaching the vehicle, I saw quite quickly that somebody had been in it because there were things lying about – that’s when I realised that somebody had taken everything.”
According to Melissa, a “huge amount” of items were pinched, which all meant a lot to her.
These included musical instruments including her ukulele which she’s had for 10 years, tents, sleeping bags, and her laptop which contained a lot of family photos, memories, work, and music she had made.
She said: “It’s quite unbelievable this has happened.”
In total, the thieves stole around £6,000 worth of stuff.
Melissa, who is originally from East Lothian said: “I was in disbelief.
“To feel saddened doesn’t really capture it. I think I’m still really struggling to actually comprehend it.
“I’m pretty gutted to lose all that.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Monday, July 3, police received a report of several items stolen from a car that had been involved in a crash on Friday, June 30 on the A760 near to the RPSB Wildlife Sanctuary, Lochwinnoch.
“The theft is thought to have occurred sometime between 5.40pm on Friday, June 30 and 2.40pm on Monday, July 3.”
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