Bookie in gun raid offers £10k reward
Masked man threatened lone worker
A top bookmaker yesterday offered a £10,000 reward for i nformation af ter an East Kilbride betting shop was robbed by a gunman.
William Hill in St Leon ards Square was hit on Friday night – and police have linked the incident to a raid on a South Lanarkshire store 30 minutes later.
The masked man threatened a lone female worker with a firearm and made off with £499 before robbing the Stonehouse Spar.
This is the second time in two years the betting shop has been robbed at gunpoint. William Hill t ol d t he News a brave f e male worker foiled the raider’s plan to steal more cash by fleeing to safety and raising the alarm.
There is to be a “thorough security review” at an East Kilbride bookies after a s econd ar med ra i d i n t wo years.
A gunman targeted William Hill i n St L eonards Square at 9. 30pm on Friday night before robbing the Spar in Stonehouse half-an-hour later.
He made off with £499 from the betting shop, stole a four-figure sum from the supermarket and fled in a Volkswagen Golf.
William Hill told the News yesterday they are looking into extra security measures and insisted there will no longer be a lone worker in the shop.
A spokesman said: “The amount stolen was £499 which is significantly more than we’d expect with all the security systems we have in place.
“On average the amount taken in a robbery is just over £200.
“The staff member is off work at the moment but she fought her way through it and is coping extremely well.
“The shop had been robbed in 2016 but prior to that it hadn’t been for 10 years so this is an anomaly.
“Af t e r t he l a s t ro bber y , bandit screens were put up. Extra security measures will be put in place once we have carried out a thorough security review.
“From now on there will always be at least two members of staff working there.”
Wearing a black scarf over his face, the gunman stormed the bookies, produced the weapon and threatened t h e f e ma l e w o r k e r, d e ma n d i n g money.
She handed over t he c a s h but when the assailant asked for more she bravely fled into the shop’s “safe haven” in the back room and called police and central security.
The gun was not discharged and no one was injured in the incident but the worker was left badly shaken by the terrifying ordeal.
In 2016, two hooded thugs threatened a lone member of staff with a firearm and made off with a four-figure sum of cash.
St Leonards residents spoke of their shock at the second armed raid in as many years.
One man said: “I heard it was a shotgun. I was in there that day 20 minutes before i t happened – i t ’s frightening to think there is someone going about with a gun here.”
The suspect is described as being in his mid-20s, around 5ft 8in tall and was wearing a black top, black jogging trousers and black trainers.
William Hill are offering a £10,000 reward for information.
Call CID officers at Cambuslang Po l i c e S t a t i o n v i a 1 0 1 , q u o t i n g incident numbers 4603 and 4805 of 1 June 2018 or Cr i mestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.