Two men in court over £500,000 armed raid at Gleneagles

Two men have denied stealing high-value watches in a terrifying armed raid at the five-star Gleneagles Hotel last summer.

The daring armed raid was carried out at Gleneagles Hotel

Richard Fleming and Liam Richardson, both prisoners at Perth, are alleged to have donned masks and used a pistol to threaten staff in Auchterarder, Perthshire.

They are then alleged to have made off in a stolen Audi bearing false number plates and threatening onlookers as they abandoned the vehicle next to the A9.

The pair denied the charges when they appeared at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday.

They appeared in the dock alongside three women, who are accused of aiding their crimes.

Fleming, 42, and 29-year-old Richardson are said to have raided the hotel on 27 June 2017.

It is said that they were in possession of hammers, a machete and a self-loading pistol before threatening members of staff, including security workers, with the firearm.

They are said to have smashed display cabinets and made off with a quantity of watches from the Mappin and Webb boutique within the hotel.

They are then said to have left the hotel at speed in a stolen Audi, nearly causing a crash after failing to stop at a junction, spraying bleach across the inside and outside of the vehicle as they abandoned it on nearby Station Road.

They allegedly used a stolen Range Rover to drive to an address in Glasgow where they took separate taxis to Central Station and fled to London and had an unknown person set fire to the car in an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

Further charges allege they stole jewellery and designer goods from properties on Buchanan Gardens and Middleshade Road in St Andrews on 12 June that they stole the Range Rover and Audi from addresses in London in June and dishonestly used the vehicles at addresses in Glasgow, St Andrews and Auchterarder.

Also appearing in the dock with them were three women.

Kirsty Fleming, 44, and Janette Mcgregor, 63, both of Glasgow, are alleged to have reset stolen goods at two addresses in June.

Ms Fleming is also alleged to have attempted to pervert the course of justice by misleading detectives investigating the Gleneagles robbery as to when she last saw her brother Richard on June 26.

Sunitta Senior, 29, of London, is alleged to have had almost £12,000 paid by Richard Fleming into her bank accounts at locations in London and Glasgow in July, before more than £5,000 was transferred to Mcgregor.

Richard Fleming admitted three offences in relation to the St Andrews thefts, but the plea was not accepted by advocate depute Jane Farquharson.

All five deny the remaining charges and the case will call again next month.