They first broke into the centre on 2nd December 1968 and stole 3 bottles of whisky, one bottle of vodka, 400 cigarettes and £8. A successful haul, they decided to come back a fortnight later and entered again through a small window in the back of the premises, this time stealing 4 and a quarter bottles of whisky, 1 bottle of vodka and £11.
However, security had been improved upon and on 16th December 1968 as the men were leaving with their haul, the 3 men were immediately caught and detained by police.
At a Hamilton Sheriff Court on the first Monday in January 1969, the 3 men after admitting the two thefts, were each sentenced to 3 months in a detention centre, having already spent their first 3 weeks incarcerated through the Christmas and New Year holiday. Their representative told reporters, “they have already spent 3 weeks locked up and each has found the whole experience thoroughly unpleasant“.
I have deliberately not mentioned the names of the boys, who were each 19 years old, as this is a fairly “modern” story.
From “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2017