Tales From The Park.: The Siege.

As its a quiet day on the home front, another tale from my time as caretaker on the Arran Park/Woodpark estates in Prestwick, South Ayrshire.



Picture, if you will, a sunny august day in the summer of 1996. Being that it was a nice saturday morning, I commenced my duties early. I collected my equipment from my store cum office in Birch House and began picking up the friday night litter along the main drag of Arran Park itself. I started at Torbeg House and Proceeded along the green space at the front of Laggan House stopping for a chat with Hugh Steven, a retired train driver who was a mine of information on the estates and those who lived there. I noticed, as I moved further on, two sdited gentlemen standing at the corner of Laggan House, very obviously CID members, the CID often being as recognisable out of uniform as they are in it. Given that visits to the area by various branches of the police were a fairly regular occurrance I did not take a great deal of further notice.



I continued down the Park, past Kildonan House, Corrie House and Bennan House until at the end of Arran Park I met my wife returning from work and returned to my flat in Kildonan House for an early tea break. My wife remarked that there seemed to be a number of police cars in the area, but I still didnt see the significance. Imagine then my shock on looking out our bedroom window and seeing a policeman stationed on our drying green with a holster and revolver on his hip.



Returning to work, I again met the redoubtable Hugh Steven and the course of events became clear. A local criminal had held up the Woodfield stores on the main Ayr- Prestwick road about a quarter of a mile away and was now holed up at his girlfriends flat in Laggan House. Therefore when I had been picking up litter and talking to Hughie outside the building earlier, Someone with a firearm had probably been watching from less than a hundred yards away.



Whilst I was talking to Hugh the police began closing down the Park completely and as normal business was obviously off the agenda, I retired to my flat to observe further events. Looking down the Park, a police car was parked outside Pine House on the opposite side from me. The door was open and a policeman with a rifle was positioned behind the door. Residents were being escorted up and down the park at angles out of the line of potential fire. My friend Jan, from upstairs was with us on our balconey exchanging a commentary with her friend Margaret who lived opposite and had a better view of the besieged flat. Margaret reported that the Gunman's girlfriend and child had been released from the flat although the offender was still holed up.



At about lunchtime I managed to get my dog out and walked by the Portacabins at the end of the Park beside the Centrum Ice Hockey Arena. Behind the Portacabins were the black uniformed members of the Strathclyde Police Armed Response Unit shifting equipment and laying cables and it was obvious that the end game was in sight.



As is often the case in these matters, the end when it came was swift. According to the late Jean Brock, who llived immediately opposite the gunmans flat, at about one in the afternoon, a squad of the black clothed ones crept along to the main door of Laggan House equipped with a battering ram and stormed up the stairs returning shortly thereafter with the disarmed offender. Life in the Park rapidly returned to normal and the gunman was subsequently sentenced to twelve years.

I, of course had to note the event on my worksheet. For the only time on the job I recorded 'Work suspended due to armed siege'.