Boxer Scott Harrison's Homes Sold To Pay Inland Revenue

Feb 17 2008 By Billy Paterson

Exclusive Neglected, Run-Down, Boarded-Up And Empty ..the Homes Seized From Fallen Boxer Harrison To Pay Off Crippling Tax Debts

JUST two years ago these luxury homes were the pride and joy of millionaire boxer Scott Harrison.

Now they are boarded up and abandoned - a harsh reminder of his dramatic fall from grace.

Harrison has three houses - worth more than £1million - in his name but is effectively homeless until he finds the money to pay debts of at least £500,000.

The former world champion's career is in tatters after he was stripped of his WBO featherweight title for failing to make a mandatory defence and he later lost his boxing licence.

Out of the ring, Harrison, 30, has been plagued with drink and drug problems and has had several run-ins with the law.

Last summer he was declared bankrupt over unpaid tax resulting in the loss of his three properties. His debts totalled more than £565,000.

His five-bed villa in Rutherglen, near Glasgow, was sold last month for £350,000 to clear some of his debts and is now being refurbished by the new owners.

And the £330,000 ranch-style home he shared with partner Jackie Reoch and their kids Scott Jnr, five, and two-year-old Maria, in nearby Cambuslang lies empty and neglected.

The windows are boarded up to deter vandals and signs warn thieves "all items of value have been removed".

Harrison's £400,000 Spanish mountain retreat, near Malaga on the Costa del Sol, was bought as a long-term investment at the height of his fame but has been totally trashed.

The pool is half-empty, the tennis courts strewn with weeds and the pool table scorched by the sun.

In July we told how the fighter collapsed during a marathon drinking session near his Costa home.

The Cambuslang and Malaga properties are under the control of Harrison's court-appointed bankruptcy trustee Donald McKinnon.

If the boxer, who faces a series of assault raps, stays out of prison and wins back his boxing licence he could earn cash to clear his debts and get the houses back. McKinnon said: "I have faith in Scott and would like to see him back in his properties.

"He needs to get back into the ring to generate an income but that is a decision that is outwith our hands."

Harrison and drug dealer uncle Jack McGill face trial in Malaga in April over a drunken double assault.

The boxer also faces a separate assault charge following an incident in a Spanish brothel.

Even if he walks free, he must still convince the British Boxing Board of Control to lift his suspended licence. On Friday the BBBC postponed a decision on Harrison's future.

Four days earlier he was convicted of breach of the peace and resisting arrest but cleared of police assault at Glasgow Sheriff Court. He will be sentenced next month.

Bellshill-born Harrison, Scotland's only two-time world champion, has announced plans to become world No.1 for a third time - this time as a super-featherweight.

He said: "The last two years have been a nightmare. I want to bring back the title to Scotland and put these matters behind me."

'The last two years have been a nightmare..I want to box again and put all this behind me' Shamed champ Scott Harrison

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