Public help in T In Park stab hunt

Jul 18 2008 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

THE police officer in charge of the investigations into the T in the Park stabbing said he was “overwhelmed” by the public’s support in trying to trace the knife thug and his accomplice.

But for the skill of the medical team at Balado, Tayside Police could be leading a murder hunt after 22-year-old Mark Morrison, from Airdrie, was the victim of a vicious stabbing in the T in the Park campsite.

The Lanarkshire man had heard a female friend being sworn at in the early hours of Sunday morning. He went out of his tent to help the female and was set upon by two males. The victim was stabbed 11 times on the head and body by one and kicked by the other.

“He’s out of danger now and a lot better but he’ll probably remain at Ninewells for a few more days,” Detective Chief Inspector Bruce Kerr told the PA yesterday.

Turning to the intensive Scotland-wide police investigation, DCI Kerr commented: “People of all ages have phoned in from all over Scotland. We even had one grandmother phoning in after her grandson told her what he saw.”

Even yesterday phone calls were still being made to the police: “We have some good positive lines of enquiry plus great CCTV coverage from the Blimp (the ‘eye in the sky’ making its T in the Park debut this year) and the security cameras on the site.”

One of the men is described as white, around 6ft 2ins, aged between 20 and 24, of slim build with short brown hair, spiked on top. He is believed to have been wearing a green or yellow jacket.

The second man, also white, is around 5ft 8ins, of stocky build, with short brown receding hair. He was wearing a red hooded top or jacket.

During the three-day music festival Tayside Police made 67 arrests – only one more than in 2007 yet there was an extra day to this year’s event.

Of those arrests, 30 people faced charges relating to theft and drugs offences, and three people were charged with assault.

Event Commander, Chief Superintendent Matt Hamilton, said: ‘‘The stabbing incident was the low point in what was otherwise a weekend of relatively few incidents at an event which was enjoyed by a huge number of well-behaved and enthusiastic people.

‘‘It is a credit to the tens of thousands who flocked to Balado last weekend and to the various agencies which make this terrific event possible, that we can report that incidents of crime and disorder were very low.”

He added: “We were acutely aware of the difficulties experienced last year, with delays on the M90 and on roads from the west, and I believe that the measures put in place went a long way to easing the pressures on the roads.

‘‘A complete review of the traffic plan indicates that there were few major delays and we have had nothing but positive feedback from local residents.”