Smash and grab raiders sent to jail

TWO MEN who carried out a smash and grab raid on a car in broad daylight were behind bars today.

Mrs Audrey Conner, 47, manageress at the Lodge of St John in Bridge Street, Fauldhouse, West Lothian, told how she saw masked men running towards her gold Renault Laguna as she stood chatting on the pavement.

One had a Rangers scarf across his face, another wore a balaclava mask and a third had the hood of his jacket pulled tight to hide his features.

The men ran away after seizing the bag which contained about 4000 - some of Mrs Conner's holiday money as well as the bar takings.

John Callaghan, 42, of Bridge Street, Fauldhouse, and Gary Middleton, 35, of Quarry Street, Shotts, Lanarkshire, denied they were the masked bandits.

But a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found them guilty of assault and robbery.

Judge Lord Pentland called for background reports before the men appear for sentence in Aberdeen next month and remanded them in custody, warning that they faced significant jail sentences.

A third man, Matthew Laird, 25, of Laggan Path, Shotts, was cleared during the trial.