The raiders, the whale and a shaggy dog story

WHEN the three shadowy figures showed up on the closed-circuit camera, it was clear to watching staff that they were up to no good. They had come prepared for their mission.

They were hooded, so evading identification as they entered the council dump, apparently to steal the teeth of a dead whale that was awaiting burial.

It was, thought the onlookers, an audacious, if unlikely, would-be heist.

The intruders had forgotten just one thing: their accomplice. The dog, instantly recognisable in the community, was their downfall and the police were able to move in.

The carcase of the 45ft male sperm whale was taken from the shore at Breasclete on the west of Lewis on 26 August and moved to the Bennadrove landfill site near Stornoway. There, it was to await a post-mortem examination.

Nigel Scott, a Western Isles Council spokesman, said: "Some persons were seen and recorded by the landfill site cameras. The tape was then passed to police and further action is a matter for them."

Sergeant Alex Macdonald, of Stornoway Police, said: " Some local persons were identified when a certain dog was also noticed on the footage. However, in the absence of further information, there will be no further police action."

Last night, one of the men, who asked not to be named, tried to explain the mystery of the dead whale and the hooded teeth-hunters. The truth, he said, is that there was no mystery, they had merely wanted to see the whale before it was buried.

Contrary to one report, they did not have a saw. Nor did they break in. "The gate was open and we just walked in," he said.

But what about the hoods? "The truth is that the midges were really hellish that evening and we were wearing midge hoods. If you wear them properly, they do keep the midges off.

"We did not wear them properly and I’m sure the CCTV also shows us scratching ourselves furiously."