BUSINESSES say they have lost thousands of pounds after their premises were sealed off as part of the large police cordon set up following a major incident in town.

Police sealed off a substantial area of Greenock town centre all day on Wednesday to conduct a major inquiry after 63-year-old Thomas Craig died following an altercation in Dalrymple Street/Laird Street early that morning.

The Tesco petrol station was shut with no access to premises on Laird Street, but there was also no access to Roslin Street, Haig Street and Hood Street, while the main road was closed from the Bullring roundabout all the way to Patrick Street, along with Container Way.

Bill Knox, who owns McPherson’s plumbers and bathroom merchants in Clarence Street/ Hood Street says he has lost a considerable sum of money.

He told the Tele he could not understand why the cordon was so large.

He said: “We were three streets away from the incident.

“Why were we closed and Tesco could remain open?

“I think it was unnecessary, we weren’t in any way impinging on the scene.”

Mr Knox says he is still counting the cost of the closure.

He told the Tele: “It’s difficult to estimate how much we’ve lost, but it was a considerable sum.

“There was no police activity around our premises apart from to close the road.

“We lost four days through the snow, you can’t do anything about that, and now we’ve lost another day.

“I know a few people were trying to get to us.

“One man was due to get a bathroom suite installed but tradesmen didn’t get their delivery.”

Elaine Paton, proprietor of Swift Fireplace Centre, in Roslin Street, was also affected by the large cordon.

She said: “I’ve lost about £3,000.

“The labourer tried to get into the premises at 8am but there was no access to the street.

“We had jobs booked in that day and I had to call up all my suppliers and get deliveries made to another address and visit all my customers at home to tell them the jobs wouldn’t be done that day.

“I couldn’t get into the office to get my phone book with their numbers to call them.

“It’s definitely affected us badly, it’s affected a lot of businesses.”

But Elaine was also keen to stress her sympathies for the loved ones of the man who died.

She said: “It’s an absolute shame what happened to that man.”
Detective Inspector David Wagstaff, of Greenock CID, said: “In the early stages of a murder investigation, preserving the crime scene for any evidence is absolutely vital. Our priority is to trace the suspect as quickly as possible, in order to provide answers for the family about what happened to their loved one.

 “The police cordon was restricted to key areas which were deemed necessary to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident which led to the victim’s death.

“Police are unaware of any complaints received from businesses that were affected by the police cordon. Indeed, any businesses officers interacted with were fully supportive and understanding of the necessity to carry out a thorough investigation.”