Mansion is targeted by raiders as guests sleep

BREAK-IN: Thieves strike in the early hours at property near Edzell

Raiders have struck at a mansion house on the edge of Angus as paying guests slept in the sprawling property during its early re-emergence from lockdown.

The thieves targeted The Burn, near Edzell, a 224-year-old property just inside the Aberdeenshire border, in the early hours of Monday.

The house is run as a holiday and study centre but also hosts events including weddings and offers accommodation in its main mansion house and other properties.

Shocked staff discovered the break-in when they arrived for work on Monday morning.

Police said a four-figure sum of money and some foodstuffs were stolen.

The raid has prompted a warning for rural businesses to be on their guard against opportunist thieves after reports the grounds of two houses in the village of Edzell nearby were also entered on the same night.

David Turner, the bursar at the The Burn, said that security would be increased.

He said: “We discovered it at 7.30 when we came to work.

“I immediately called the police and they were on the scene very quickly.”

Mr Turner said the immediate concern was for the guests staying in the main house, but they had not been disturbed by the raiders.

“The guests were at the opposite end from where the thieves came in.

“The fortunate thing is that because we have not been trading for some time due to lockdown, what could have been robbed was limited, so it could have been worse.

“We’re an academic retreat but the universities aren’t operating just now so we are getting very little of our core charitable business.

“We do take private guests and were allowed to start accepting customers again from July 15, but it is still fairly quiet.”

He continued: “I have been here for nine years and we’ve had no incidents like this, but we will certainly be looking at increasing our security measures.

“We feel very supported by the Police Scotland response and the local reaction. I wanted local people to be aware that this had happened here and to be on the lookout for any sort of similar activity,” he said.

Detective Sergeant Scott McKay, North East CID, Aberdeen, said: “From our inquiries, we believe the break-in, which took place in the non-residential area of the hotel, happened between 00.30am and 7.30am on Monday morning and there were at least two people and one vehicle used.

“The hotel is set in a private estate and is off the beaten track, so I would think that any vehicles not usually on the road between midnight and 7.30am would be noticed by locals.”

The Burn is run by Goodenough College, a London-based independent educational charity, and welcomes student groups from around the world.

It sits close to the River South Esk and the woodland walk through the estate’s grounds, which is accessed from the well-known Blue Door, has proved a magnet for visitors as lockdown restrictions are relaxed.

I wanted local people to be aware that this had happened here and to be on the lookout for any sort of similar activity.

DAVID TURNER