Gary Towsey was wearing full Highland dress when hotel staff at Edinburgh's Bonham Hotel believed he was the cycling champion and provided complimentary accommodation worth £600.
A man who stumbled into a luxury Edinburgh hotel wearing a kilt he found abandoned on a park bench was mistaken for Olympic cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy and given free accommodation worth hundreds of pounds, a court has heard. Gary Towsey, 43, has now been cleared of fraud charges related to the bizarre 2023 incident.
Towsey, from Liverpool, had been drinking heavily when he discovered a bag containing full Highland dress on a bench in The Meadows, a popular Edinburgh park, according to STV News. The outfit included a kilt, jacket, and shoes valued at £610.
After waiting to see if anyone would return for the items, the intoxicated father-of-six decided to put on the tartan ensemble and made his way to the upmarket Bonham Hotel in Edinburgh's West End.
How the mix-up happened
Hotel staff at the five-star establishment reportedly believed Towsey was Sir Chris Hoy, the six-time Olympic gold medallist who was expected at an event at a city centre hotel with his wife that evening. The receptionist's misidentification led to Towsey receiving complimentary room and board worth approximately £600, reported Edinburgh News.
Police later traced the Highland regalia to Davison dress hire outlet in Edinburgh's Bruntsfield neighbourhood. The items had been stolen from the shop, though prosecutors emphasised there was no suggestion Towsey had carried out the original theft.
Court clears fraud charge
When the case came to trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court this month, prosecutors accepted Towsey's not guilty plea to the fraud charge. He did plead guilty to reset, which is the Scottish legal term for handling stolen goods.
Fiscal depute Peter Finnon told the court that the matter came to police attention after the hotel incident where Towsey was misidentified. Defence agent Catriona Logan described her client's actions as a "foolish drunken mistake."
She explained that Towsey had waited to see if anyone would return for the clothing before making his decision to wear it. Logan also revealed that her client had been struggling with alcoholism at the time but has since been sober for six months. He now works as a kitchen porter for a sports events company.
The impact
Sheriff Frank Gill opted for a financial penalty rather than a more severe sentence. Towsey was ordered to pay a fine of £280 for the reset offence. The court heard that the kilt, jacket and shoes had been fully recovered and returned.
Sir Chris Hoy, 49, remains one of Britain's most celebrated athletes. The Edinburgh-born cyclist won six Olympic gold medals during his career and was knighted in 2009. He publicly revealed in 2024 that he is receiving treatment for stage four prostate cancer and has continued to participate in charitable events throughout Scotland, including leading the Edinburgh Kiltwalk in September 2025.
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