William chased jewel thief down Shuttle Street after raid
A sprightly 64-year-old spoke in November 1987 of his 300-yard dash to catch a jewel thief.
“If I had got near him I would have tackled him,” said William McLauchlan, the owner of the New Street jewellers which became the target for smash-and-grab raiders.
Mr McLauchlan was inside the shop when the front display window was shattered.
He ran outside to see one of the thieves running into Shuttle Street carrying two trays of diamond rings.
He said: “I chased him to the end of Shuttle Street, but then I lost him.
“I kept shouting at passersby ‘He’s stolen two trays of diamonds!’”
“I was blazing mad,” Mr McLauchlan added.
Sales assistant Marie Banagham, 19, said: “It was frightening.
“I was serving a lady, when I heard a bang.
“I looked up and saw a guy putting his hand in the window and picking up the rings.”
It was estimated the thieves escaped with several thousand pounds of jewellery.
Police were now on the hunt for two men.
They believed the second man was acting as a lookout while the first actually broke the window and made off with the rings.
Paisley people were urged to get in touch with the police if they had witnessed the event, or had seen the men making off down the street.