Horror as body is found in blazing summer house
DETECTIVES last night were investigating the discovery of a body in a burnedout summerhouse in an exclusive Scottish suburb.
Stunned neighbours watched as emergency crews were called to the detached house in Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, yesterday afternoon after reports of a fire.
It was then that the grisly discovery was made, in a wooden summerhouse in the rear garden.
The home is owned by George and Monica Taylor, who have three children, Andrew, Sarah and Matthew. Mr Taylor recently retired from his job as a dentist and principal partner at Mount Florida Dental, Glasgow. Mrs Taylor is also believed to be a dentist.
The identity of the body has yet to be established and police have been unable to confirm if they are treating the death as suspicious.
Last night, residents in Islay Drive said that they were shocked by the tragedy. One, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘I arrived home just after lunch time to see all the neighbours out in the street. I was lucky to get in because police had cordoned off the entrance. You could see the flames and the smoke at the back of the house.
‘They are just a normal, happy family. You would say “hello” when you saw them in the street or the boy out washing the car. There was never any aggro that we knew of. You never hear of a fight in this street.’
Mr Taylor was seen by a neighbour arriving home amid all the
Investigation: Police in attendance commotion in his blue BMW. The Taylors are believed to have lived in the street for at least 20 years. Two of their children are thought to still live at home, while one is at university. Islay Drive is a popular location, where houses routinely sell for more than £400,000.
The house next to the Taylor’s was once owned by Sky Sports pundit and former Celtic and Scotland footballer Charlie Nicholas. Until 2009, a house opposite the Taylor’s was occupied by the family of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber.
The detached villa was paid for by Libyan despot Colonel Gaddafi to house Megrahi’s relatives while he was in Barlinnie and Greenock jails.
Newton Mearns has a population of just over 22,600 residents and is a popular area for young families. It has some of the most sought-after primary and high schools in Glasgow.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: ‘At 1pm police were called to reports of a fire within an outhouse at a property in Islay Drive, Newton Mearns. Emergency services attended and a body was discovered within the outhouse.
‘The identity of the body has yet to be confirmed and a postmortem examination will be carried out in due course to establish the exact cause of death.
‘Inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the incident and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.’
A spokesman for Scottish Fire and Rescue said: ‘One appliance from Clarkston and one appliance from Pollok attended reports of an outbuilding on fire at an address in Newton Mearns at 12.52pm.
‘Crews used two hose reel jets to extinguish the fire.’
‘Flames and smoke at back of house’