Raiders pull off whisky heist at Mar Hall hotel
Hunt for masked robbers
Thieves wearing balaclavas launched a daring £3,500 whisky heist at a luxury hotel.
Crooks raided the Macallan whisky display at the Mar Hall Estate in the early hours of Sunday morning.
A member of staff at the five-star Bishopton resort – used by Scotland’s national football team – disrupted the three raiders in a long hallway.
The trio ordered him to stay quiet and not to call the police before fleeing the scene.
It was later discovered that a cabinet of expensive Macallan whisky had been ransacked.
Bottles worth around £3,500 were missing.
A police dog unit searched the area but was unable to find a trace of the suspects.
Officers are now scouring CCTV footage from the area in a bid to identify the gang.
The first suspect is described as being around 6ft 2ins tall, of average build and was wearing a balaclava and navy or black coloured clothing. He spoke with a local accent.
The other two suspects are described as being around 6ft tall and were also wearing balaclavas and dark clothing
Police have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
Inspector Allan O’Hare, f rom Renfrewshire’s community policing team, said: “Three males entered the Mar Hall estate in Bishopton at around 1.50am on Sunday.
“They made off from the scene after a being confronted by a member of staff.
“Police were called a short time later. However, despite an extensive search, including by a police dog unit, no trace of the males was found.”
He added: “We are appealing to members of the public who may have information in relation to this incident to come forward.
“Did you see or hear a vehicle coming or going from the area?
“Did you see any thing suspicious? If so, we would like to hear from you.
“If you are offered expensive whisky for sale, we would also like to hear from you.”
Express readers with i n f o rma t i o n should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Mar Hall, formerly known as Erskine House, sits amid 200 acres of the Earl of Mar Estate and was originally built in the mid- 1800s for the 11th Lord Blantyre, Major General Robert Walter Stuart.
In 2004, the building underwent a £ 15million restoration and was turned into a five-star resort.