Masked gang’s Fife holiday park raid “an inside job” says sheriff
A court has been shown CCTV of four masked men carrying out a break-in and robbery at a Fife holiday park.
The video captured the moment the raiders entered the foyer of the main reception building at Pettycur Bay caravan park just before two o’clock in the morning.
They entered by forcing open a fire door then two men tried to smash their way into a cash machine unsuccessfully while the other pair jumped over the reception counter into the back office.
A sheriff commented that it looked like an “inside job”.
Two of the gang knew exactly where the safe was located in the back office and dragged it out of the building.
The safe was forced open and later found discarded by a member of the public. The £2500 it contained had been stolen.
Brandon McMillan (19), currently a prisoner at Polmont young offenders’ institution, appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
He previously admitted that on 26th July 2017, whilst acting with others, he broke into the business premises of Pettycur Bay Caravan Park, Burntisland Road, Kinghorn, attempted to break into an ATM and stole a safe and its contents.
McMillan was caught because his DNA was found on the smashed-up ATM.
Defence solicitor Joe Boyd said his client had been aged just 17 at the time of the incident.
“He had been expecting to be picked up by a friend for a lift to Edinburgh. There were two other people in the car and it became clear what they were planning to do,” added Mr Boyd.
“Mr McMillan had no prior knowledge of these plans and did not know anything about the location.
“He had taken a cocktail of drugs that evening including Valium. His role in this enterprise was less than that of the others involved.”
He added that his client came from the travelling community and had been passed from “pillar to post” in his family when he was young.
Sheriff Charles MacNair said, “This was well-planned by someone who knew the lay-out of the premises and in particular how to find the safe.
“This was obvious from the CCTV and to use the common parlance this had all the indications of an ‘inside job’.”
The sheriff told McMillan he had a “deplorable” record for someone his age. He imposed a 21-month custodial sentence.
At a previous hearing, another member of the gang, 28-year-old Robert Arthur was jailed for 38 months for his part in the break-in.
