Glencorse Massacre: I discovered the bodies of three murdered soldiers

The police officer who discovered the bodies of three murdered soldiers in a remote Scottish valley 40 years ago has spoken publicly about his experience for the first time.

PC Bill Anderson followed a trail of blood in thick snow for almost two miles before finding the bodies of Staff Sgt Terrance Hosker, Pte John Thomson and retired Maj David Cunningham in the Pentland Hills.

He told BBC Scotland News he was alone with the bodies for almost an hour as he waited for back-up from colleagues, not knowing if the gunman was going to return and kill him.

The so-called Glencorse massacre left him so traumatised he never until now returned to the hills where he played as a child and roamed as a fell runner.

Earlier this week he finally returned to the scene to lay flowers, accompanied by former colleague Dougie Allan and a BBC Scotland reporter.

"I feel emotional being here but I also feel that I now have a sense of peace from the hills," Mr Anderson, 78, said.

"I feel like there is now a completion after 40 years that we have paid our respects to the three men who lost their lives when we've been allowed to live a long life."

Both Mr Anderson, who was 39 at the time, and Allan, then 35, arrived at the beauty spot on 17 January 1985 after receiving a call from a local postman to say a Land Rover was stuck in a ditch.

They had been out in their panda car looking for a Land Rover that was late back to Glencorse barracks in Midlothian. It had been used to transport soldiers' wages picked up from a bank in nearby Penicuik.

When they found the vehicle it was a "bloodbath" - but there was no sign of any driver of engers.

Mr Anderson ran through the snow following a trail of blood while Mr Allan went back to the main road to get a signal on his radio. He called the control room before returning to guard the Land Rover and preserve the evidence.

Mr Allan, who is now 75, said: "I could feel the hair going up on the back of my neck when we saw all the blood and the empty shell cases.

"I thought something has gone badly wrong here and if there is someone running around with a gun we could be a target as well.

"The blood was everywhere, it was a bloodbath, I'd never seen a shooting like that before.

"I was very wary about where the person was who had fired the gun and I felt like a sitting duck."

When Mr Anderson reached a derelict cottage next to Loganlea reservoir he found the bodies behind a wall, at the bottom of a flight of steps.

Sgt Hosker and Maj Cunningham were "like book ends" sitting upright on the steps while Pte Thomson was in a crumpled heap having been shot through the back of the head.

"I got the fright of my life when I looked over that wall," said Mr Anderson.

"The vision of those men sticks in my head - white faced men covered in blood and snow and a horrible isolated location like that, they were dumped there."

He said he felt vulnerable and exposed as he stood guard at the crime scene and waited for back up from police colleagues.

And that fear has had a lasting impact.

"There's people been taken out but you don't know what the score is, you don't know what has gone down, " the father of four added.

"I was anxious and my eyes were looking all over the place because I didn't know where the perpetrator was.

"I was petrified, especially when I saw a man coming down the path towards me. I was shouting 'halt, who goes there"The plaque reads: Maj D Cunningham, S Sgt Hosker T, Pte Thomson J - who were killed whilst carrying out their duties on 17 Jan 1985, Lest we forget. There are three small wooden crosses behind the plague. Mr Anderson and Mr Allan are in the background of the picture and the plaque is in the foreground." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/>