The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Old age prisoners reach Belfast after break-out
Group of pensioners raise funds for charity with ‘great laugh’
A group of hardy OAPs from Dundee and Fife sprang themselves from Perth Prison before going on the lam in Northern Ireland at the weekend.
The trio, who have a combined age of 223, escaped shortly after 8am on Saturday morning, before hitching a ride to Belfast in time to celebrate the Emerald Isles’ victory in the Six Nations Championship and St Patrick’s Day.
Noeline Raitt, 79, and Isa Carnochan, 62, of Eden Court, Cupar, and Cath Webster, 82, of Dundee, were back on Sunday evening, with Noeline describing the escapade as a “great laugh”.
The three team members were, of course, taking part in a charity event, which saw them raise money for the Sistema project in Dundee.
The “jail break”, which is now in its second year, aims to raise thousands of pounds for good causes and was organised by Dundee community charity the Grey Lodge Settlement.
Last year’s event, in which the “OAPrisoners” also took part, generated more than £4,000 for the Broughty Ferry Lifeboat.
This year’s “escape” total is still to be tallied and Noeline, who turns 80 on Christmas day, said she was delighted funds were being raised for such a worthwhile cause.
The Green Shirt Gang were transported from Perth to Belfast by volunteers, under strict instruction they were not to spend a single penny of their own until they reached their destination.
Mrs Raitt said: “Myself and Isa are residents in Eden Court complex in Cupar and we teamed up this year with participants from the Grey Lodge complex in Dundee.
“We ‘escaped’ from HMP Perth at around 8am on Saturday morning and made our way over to Belfast.
“We were handed envelopes with instructions, which told us where we were going and how we get there.
“Of course, our arrival coincided with Ireland’s grand slam victory over England and the atmosphere was fabulous.
“We are raising funds this year for Sistema, which is such a worthwhile cause and the whole weekend was a great laugh, from beginning to end.”
Noeline said she and the gang are already planning for next year and thanked the Grey Lodge settlement for organising the event, singling out Alan Duncan in particular for all his help.