A JOURNEY of 450 miles ended in heartbreak for a group of Glaswegian mods this weekend when their scooters were stolen from a car park.

Mick Stevenson and five friends drove from Coatbridge near Glasgow to Brighton in parkas, paisley and dessy boots on Friday for the annual mod ride out.

But when they came to collect their scooters from Churchill Square car park on Sunday morning, three of the six had been taken by thieves.

To add to the group’s misery, reporting the crime took so long that even the three men whose still had their Vespas missed the Sunday morning event.

Mick, 46, said he was “absolutely gutted” when he discovered his beloved Scomadi, purchased only six months ago, had been stolen.

He had set off from Coatbridge with his brother and four other members of the Coatbridge Bad Company Scooter Club at 4am on Thursday.

After breaking the journey overnight in Bicester, they drove into Brighton at 3pm on Friday and parked their scooters in Churchill Square car park, where a member of staff assured them they could leave their rides for free, by the barriers.

The men then spent an enjoyable weekend in the city, taking in the night life and watching Quadrophenia on Brighton’s Big Screen on Saturday night.

They were joined by their wives who flew down from Glasgow airport and who planned to ride pillion the following day.

On Sunday morning the group of 11 left their hotel excited at the prospect of the ride out.

But when they arrived at the car park, they released the scooters had been taken.

Mick said: “I was gutted, just gutted. The Vespa were still there but the three Scomadis were gone.”

They got a taxi to John Street police station where they reported the thefts of the scooters, worth £3,000 each.

After receiving information police went to May Road, Brighton, where one of the scooters was found.

Police are now waiting to hear from car park bosses who have said they will look at the CCTV.

The incident meant that the Glaswegian friends missed out on the famous ride out of Brighton along the coast road.

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

A spokesman said: “Anyone with information about the theft or the scooter’s concealment is asked to contact police onlin at sussex.police.uk/appealresponse or call 101 quoting serial 881 of 27/08. Alternatively, you can visit the Crimestoppers website or call 0800 555 111.”