T In The Park promoter STUART CLUMPAS has revealed that the armed robbers who broke into his home earlier this week stole #70,000 cash – not #20,000 as was first estimated.
Clumpas was tied up and robbed by three armed men who broke in to his home in Blanefield, Stirlingshire in the early hours of July 12. It was thought they made off with an estimated #20,000 cash, part of which was charity money collected for a local children’s hospice from T In The Park last weekend.
Now, Clumpas claims that the robbers got away with nearer #70,000, as it was unclear how much the robbers had taken in addition to the charity donation.
Speaking about whom he thought was responsible, Clumpas said: “I have thoughts and I am sure police do too, of who may be involved in this. I would not call it an inside job. It makes it more dramatic that it actually would be. I suspect that people knew certain things.”
Clumpas, 41, was asleep in his house with wife Judith, who also works with their gig promotions company DF Concerts, along with their two children Lucy and Dougall, when they were woken around 3am by the intruders. Police have described the men as wearing balaclavas, green camouflage clothing and were armed with wooden sticks.
Speaking about the robbery, he said: “There were torches on the door. I had woken up. I thought it was my daughter getting out of her bed so I was expecting her to come walking through the door. Instead, it was some characters I thought were SAS or something. I realised quite quickly what was going on.
“Obviously, people with sticks in your bedroom at three in the morning is something you don’t expect. But I’d prefer they had sticks than knives and guns.”
Promoters plan to divert other funds from the festival to charity. Clumpas continued: “They obviously were looking for money and that’s what they went away with. If you sit down and think very hard about that at the end of the day it’s only paper…we’ve decided to divert #15,000 of funds that were going elsewhere in T In The Park…to ensure the donation does occur.”
Clumpas‘ blue Volkswagen Golf, which was stolen by the intruders and used in the getaway, was discovered yesterday (July 13) by a member of the public, ten miles away from the scene of the crime – in the grounds of the Lennox Castle Hospital in Kirkintilloch.
No arrests have been made by local police.