Tragedy at Banton Loch

The tragedy had sparked a major rescue operation in the town with eyewitnesses reporting a heightened presence of the emergency services racing to the north shore of the beauty spot after 3.30pm.

One said: "We saw fire engines an ambulance and police, including two boats on trailers.

"The footpaths to the east shore of Banton Loch were closed, and there were around 18 or more emergency responders from all services, apparently engaged in the retrieval of a casualty from the loch, with CPR being carried out on a casualty for at least 20 minutes."

A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed "Emergency services were called around 3.30pm on Saturday, June 19 after a 47-year-old man got into difficulty at Banton Loch in Kilsyth.

" The man was recovered from the water and pronounced dead at the scene. There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal."

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 3.18pm on Saturday, June 19 to support a multi-agency response to an incident near Colzium House, Stirling Road, Kilsyth.

"Operations Control mobilised a number of resources to the scene to assist partners."

Police have since told us there are “no plans” to release any further details about the man who died.