A NOTORIOUS Greenock criminal has been found dead at a flat in the town.

The body of Henry (Harry) Kerr was discovered within a property on Inverkip Street at the weekend.

Detectives are today treating the 'sudden' death of the 67-year-old - whose criminal record stretched back nearly 50 years - as unexplained, as investigations into the matter continue.

Police have not named the deceased, however, the Telegraph understands from a number of well placed sources that the body found is that of Kerr, who lived on Inverkip Street.

During his criminal career, he was jailed for seven years at the High Court in Glasgow in 2009 after threatening to kill a businessman and torching his Greenock yard.

Kerr had mounted a six-month campaign of intimidation against a plant hire operator during which he demanded sums of money ranging from £25,000 to £200,000.

Kerr also made threatening calls to one of the owner's employees and her cousin.

When the victim refused to stump up cash, Kerr and an unknown accomplice broke into his yard and set fire to five mechanical excavators and a forklift truck.

In 2003, Kerr was being held in a Spanish jail facing three charges of attempted murder and one of malicious wounding.

He was also wanted for questioning on a number of outstanding matters in Scotland at the time.

More recently, Kerr was charged in 2020 with attacking a man to severe injury with a knife on Greenock's South Street.

His death comes following the discovery of a woman's body at a property on Inverkip Street last month in an incident that was also being treated by police as unexplained.

Police Scotland confirmed yesterday that they are investigating the sudden death of a 67-year-old man at an address on Inverkip Street on Sunday afternoon.

A force spokesperson told the Telegraph: “We were made aware of the sudden death of a 67-year-old man at a property on Inverkip Street in Greenock shortly after 12.15pm on Sunday, February 11.

“The death is being treated as unexplained and a report has been submitted to the procurator fiscal.”

No further details have been provided by the police at this time.