Carnoustie Beach

4.5C with a bright and sunny morning then more cloud with showers in the afternoon. Light North North Easterly breeze.

Local news was breaking nearby this morning. The police had closed the shore road at the bottom of the road we walk down to get to the beach. It was closed along towards Easthaven. From our upstairs front window I could see police vehicles at the bottom of the bridle path and one police car in the field behind Panbride House. Local newspapers on Twitter were linking the activity to a raid on a small local Co-op supermarket last night which had involved the theft of an ATM. There has been more than one of this sort of crime in the North East recently it appears.

Maeve the Deerhound and I went for a walk before lunch to avoid the forecast showers. We went down the road to the shore to Westhaven. The closed shore road was lined with police vehicles for a hundred yards or so, and further along towards Panbride House (until recently the home and gym/sports physiotherapy business of Liz McColgan, Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete) there were more vans. We walked along the road and went over the road bridge over the railway line. The tide was well out. We walked along the beach and then the path towards Carnoustie beach then joined the path to walk along as far as the railway station where we turned up to the High Street to make our way back home up the main road before turning along for home.

Since we got home home Twitter has been showing reports from journalists at the Courier (a Dundee newspaper) stating that shots were fired by police and five men have been arrested on the outskirts of Arbroath. It is not yet confirmed that this is linked to the activity at Panbride House but it is hard to imagine otherwise.

The text from the stories in the The Guide & Gazette at 3.33pm and thecourier.co.uk as at 3pm is below.

DMC-LX7 f/3.2 1/2000 sec. ISO-80 5mm (35mm focal length 24mm)

Guide and Gazette 15.33pm 12th Feb 2016:

Police Scotland can confirm that five men have been detained in relation to the theft of an ATM from a shop premises in the Barry Road area of Carnoustie this morning (Friday, February 12).

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “The incident occurred at around 4:30am and the men were detained by specialist officers at Westway Retail Park in Arbroath.

“The detentions are part of an ongoing police operation involving officers from Police Scotland’s Organised Crime Unit based at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, officers from Tayside Division and Titan (North West Regional Crime Unit, England).

“As part of the operation, vehicle tyre deflation rounds were discharged directly into vehicle tyres. This is a recognised and practiced tactic which is used specifically to disable a vehicle and was deployed in order to reduce any potential wider impact to the public and to maximise their safety. As a result, and in line with routine procedure, this incident will be referred to PIRC for review.

“Enquiries into today’s incident are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if you wish to remain anonymous.”

Courier: Gun shots heard as armed police detain men at McDonalds after Carnoustie ATM raid

An eye witness has said she heard gun shots as several men were restrained by a police armed response team outside McDonald’s in Arbroath.

The Courier understands that five people are being held by police in relation to the theft of a cash machine in Carnoustie at 4.30am today.

Diners at McDonald’s reported “two or three” shots and some customers huddled in cars, heads down, stunned and uncertain about what was occurring. One witness told The Courier she had seen officers restraining a number of suspects on the ground and had seen officers armed with rifles arriving on the scene.
Another was eating breakfast at the fast food chain’s Westway Retail Park outlet when another customer said police had men on the ground outside.

The arrests took place just before 10am. It is understood that the men had been travelling in a Mercedes car.

The Angus man, who took a picture of one of the men being arrested, said: “I was eating breakfast when someone said there are guys outside on the floor, the police have got them on the floor in the car park. There was an armed response team and four or five guys were taken away in police cars. They didn’t enter McDonald’s. Part of the car park has been cordoned off.”

Another witness said: "A man in the Mercedes was calmly having a coffee when two police cars surrounded the car. One came behind it and the other went right up to the driver's door. From there they bundled the guy out. I only saw one man being arrested, but there may have been others. The police helicopter was overhead the whole time. This happened at around 9.30am."

Police haven’t confirmed if the arrests relate to the Carnoustie incident.
They are talking to motorists at the scene.

 The ATM was stolen from the Co-Operative shop on Barry Road after the front door shutter was breached in the early hours.

A major police presence was deployed between David Murray Transport and Liz McColgan’s former home Panbride House, to the east of the town.

Dozens of vehicles were at the scene including a police helicopter which circled the area.

Officers were also visible at locations around Tayside include the Kingsway, Claypotts and Swallow roundabout in Dundee and Broxden roundabout in Perth as well the A92 between Dundee and Arbroath.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Patrick said: "We are appealing to the public for information following the theft of the ATM this morning.

"Our enquiries into this incident are ongoing and we are being supported by specialist officers. The public will see a visible police presence in the area for some time as we continue with our investigation into the incident."

Anyone with information is urged to contact Police Scotland on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if you wish to remain anonymous.

Speaking at the scene Carnoustie councillor Brian Boyd said: “The lodge and stables at Panbride House have been secured since it went up for sale. It looks like the police are really interested in that area. I hope this is resolved quickly for the people of Carnoustie.”

One householder in the area said: “I have never seen anything like it. People say that nothing happens in Carnoustie.”

Cash machine thefts have become increasingly common in the north east of Scotland. Police are still hunting criminals who got away with more than £100,000 from an ATM in Kirriemuir and attempted a similar raid in Friockheim in December 2014. Last January, two ATMs were ripped from the wall of a Morrisons supermarket in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, with £10,000 taken. In June, thieves made off with £50,000 after blowing up an ATM at Newtonhill’s Tesco store and there was another failed attempt on a cash machine at a filling station in Aboyne in October.