Detectives track gun getaway car

A CAR suspected to have been used by a hitman who gunned down a property developer outside a city gym may have been stolen in Glasgow three weeks before the shooting.

Robert Kelbie, 27, was shot in the back at Bannatyne's Health Club in Newcraighall at around 7pm last Wednesday.

Police have traced a stolen Vauxhall Vectra, which was dumped in Polwarth just hours after the incident, before being set alight the following morning. Officers believe it may be the same vehicle spotted speeding away from the gym after Mr Kelbie was wounded.

The inquiry team, based at Craigmillar police station, are working with colleagues in Strathclyde Police to determine whether the shooting has links to criminals in Glasgow. The car was stolen from the city at the beginning of August, and police are appealing for any sightings of it since then.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Thomas, who is leading the investigation, said that a number of new witnesses had been identified following a reconstruction of the incident at the gym on Wednesday.

DCI Thomas said: "In major investigations like this, the support of the public is paramount and I am delighted that we have had a positive response.

"Forensic examination of the recovered Vectra is ongoing to determine whether it is the vehicle used during the shooting. Any residents in West Bryson Road who remember seeing the vehicle in the hours surrounding the incident are being asked to get in touch.

"This Vectra may have been in the Edinburgh area for a couple of weeks so people may also have seen it during that time. It could have been left in the West Bryson Road car park any time from shortly after 7pm until 10.30pm."

The Vauxhall Vectra was left at the far end of a residential car park. Officers believe any suspects may have jumped over an adjoining wall, which leads to a path at the rear of Harrison Road, in a bid to avoid CCTV.

The inquiry team has appealed for any sightings of the vehicle at the gym in the days before the incident as they probe whether the suspect had tracked the victim for days.