A SON of Mr Arnold Clark, the millionaire motor dealer, was found dead
yesterday after police attended his Helensburgh home.
Senior officers said late last night his death was being treated as a
tragic accident. Earlier, officers said the death was being treated as
suspicious and they were awaiting the result of a post-mortem
examination.
Police found the body of Mr Norman Clark, 33, one of four sons from Mr
Arnold Clark's first marriage, when they went to his house in Lever
Road, near Helensburgh Golf Club, just after 6.30am in response to a 999
call. An ambulance also attended.
Police investigations were concentrated yesterday within the
three-bedroom detached villa which had been freshly painted on the
outside. A uniformed policeman stood guard at the front door.
Two forensic officers carried out an examination of the house.
Mr Raymond Hepburn, control manager with the Scottish Ambulance
Service in the Argyll and Clyde area, later confirmed to The Herald:
''We attended a collapse call at the location at 6.43am this morning.
However, we did not remove any patient. The case is now in police
hands.''
Mr Clark was divorced and had two sons. He is thought to have stayed
at the house with his friend and work colleague, Ms Alice Robinson. They
moved in last September.
He was a salesman with the Partick-based McHarg, Rennie and Lindsay
group, one of more than 70 franchises run by the Arnold Clark
Organisation throughout the UK.
He is understood to have called in sick to his work on Tuesday
morning.
No-one at the showroom would comment yesterday. A spokeswoman at the
St George's Road branch in Glasgow would only say: ''All we know is that
there has been a bereavement in the family. I have been told not to
comment further.''
A staff member at a local Texaco petrol station used by salesmen from
McHarg, Rennie and Lindsay said he was shocked to learn of Mr Clark's
death. ''He always appeared a very pleasant and outgoing chap on his
regular visits here,'' he said.
Neighbours on the Glade estate in the Clyde resort town yesterday said
the family had ''kept themselves to themselves''.
One neighbour said she had been wakened by an ambulance and several
police cars drawing up in the street early yesterday. But she said she
had heard no disturbance before then.
Mr Clark was said to have been ''a quiet and reserved young man'' who
kept a low profile in the community.
One motor dealer said yesterday: ''If he had been Jack the Lad or
something then he would have been talked about, but he wasn't.
''Although he worked in the business, he didn't have a major public
profile. This is a real tragedy for the Clarks, and we sympathise with
them.''
Friends and relatives of the dead man gathered yesterday in Killearn,
Stirlingshire, at the sprawling home of his father, Arnold, 67, and his
second wife, Philomena.
A woman who was vetting callers at the door of the home said:
'''Norman was a lovely man. He had a twin brother called Neil. Everyone
here is stunned by what's happened.''
The couple were said to be devasted by the tragedy. They have two sons
and four daughters, John, Adam, Celia, Lucy, Stephanie, and Amy.
Mr Arnold Clark has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the
biggest motor operators in the UK. The Clark family are well-known in
Helensburgh and are members of the exclusive Royal Northern and Clyde
Yacht Club at Rhu.
The couple owned the ''jinxed'' eight-metre yacht Drum England which
used to belong to Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon. It was involved
in a number of accidents and unfortunate incidents at sea.
Mr Clark was a steelworker's son who was conscripted for the RAF at
the end of the Second World War and was trained as a mechanic. With some
technical knowledge behind him, he returned to Glasgow and began buying
cars.
By 1954 he had accumulated enough capital to open his first showroom,
in Park Road, Glasgow. He gained his first franchise from Morris five
years later. He has since risen to become the owner of Scotland's
largest multi-franchise car-selling group and also has interests in
England.
Contract hire and vehicle repairs and servicing is also a major part
of the business.
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