Dingwall man Duncan McCallum’s Inverness child and adult trauma climbing wall charity, The Ledge, is hit by £2500 bill after thieves’ smash way in and take iPads

Callous thieves have left a groundbreaking Inverness charity climbing centre with a whopping £2500 bill after a break-in.

The culprits smashed their way into The Ledge, at the city’s Telford Retail Park, in the early hours of Monday morning.

As well as causing physical damage, the thieves made off with four iPads crucial to running The Ledge’s community programs.

The innovative centre, featuring Scotland’s only Olympic-standard bouldering wall, uses climbing to restore self-confidence in trauma-impacted children and adults, including survivors of cancer and sexual violence.

It was founded by Dingwall-raised CEO Duncan McCallum, the BBC and Channel Four TV presenter and climber, who created what is recognised as a world-class climbing centre, café, gym and social enterprise.

In a social media post this afternoon, a representative of the charity wrote: “At 2am on Monday, The Ledge Charity Climbing Wall was broken into.

“Thieves smashed their way in and stole four iPads essential for running our community programs.

“The cost to replace the iPads and repair the broken window is around £2,500 — the same as could provide trauma-informed/targeted climbing programs for a group of young people for a whole term.

“We’re pretty upset, but we won’t let this setback stop us from helping young people find strength through climbing.”

The Ledge is asking those who can help to donate, with a link here.

Police Scotland have been asked to comment.