A Conservative peer has appeared in court accused of drink-driving in a Fife village.
Alexander Scrymgeour, the 12th Earl of Dundee, allegedly committed the offence in the St Michaels area.
The 75-year-old sits as a hereditary peer in the House of Lords, which he first entered in 1983.
He is the chief of Clan Scrymgeour and was one of the peers carrying the Royal Standards at the 2023 coronation of King Charles.
Scrymgeour appeared personally at Dundee Sheriff Court accused of driving with excess alcohol (50mics/ 22).
The case was continued without plea and Scrymgeour will return to court next month.
Killer sued police
Depraved Dundee double murderer Andrew Innes will receive thousands of pounds after taking Police Scotland to court for selling his car. The Courier revealed the brazen killer, who murdered Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her two-year-old daughter Jellica and buried them under the floor of his Troon Avenue kitchen, argued his vehicle was wrongfully disposed of. An out of court settlement for a four-figure sum was reached between Innes and lawyers acting for Police Scotland.
‘I’ve got a f***ing big blade’
A drunk lout threatened to slash people with a knife after showing off to children in Dundee city centre.
Staff at McDonald’s on Reform Street were so concerned by Sean Thomson‘s behaviour they locked the door as he wandered around making violent threats.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how repeat offender Thomson, a man with a history of alcohol misuse issues, was approached by staff while in the restaurant because he appeared “agitated”.
His behaviour escalated after being asked if he needed help and he began shouting and swearing outside at passers-by.
He kicked a bin repeatedly before saying: “I’ve got a big f***ing blade, I’ll slash them up.”
The door of the McDonald’s was locked as soon as staff overheard the threat, which was not aimed at anyone in particular.
Two police officers attended and Thomson refused to be taken to the police van, claiming to be a “man of free land” while lashing out and threatening to kill and bite them.
Thomson, of Polepark Road, pled guilty to behaving abusively and kicking out at officers on Reform Street and Nethergate on April 12.
Defence solicitor Mark Robbins said: “There was a group of children following him, egging him on and he was effectively showing off before this incident.
“Quite often it’s in the evening in the town centre where Mr Thomson gets into trouble by attending the various bars in the city centre.”
Sheriff John Rafferty placed him on a restriction of liberty order for 200 days, keeping him indoors between 7pm and 7am during that period.
‘Reckless’
A “reckless” motorist was five times the drink-drive limit when police spotted her drive off at speed and hit a kerb in Dunfermline city centre. Bailey Hildrew, 20, was then pulled over by officers and failed a roadside breath test.
Rooftop shots
Two men were caught with unauthorised air rifles after gunshots spooked neighbours living near a Blairgowrie factory.
David Spooner, 59, and Martin Bell, 35, were spotted on the roof of the Proctor Group plant, off Dunkeld Road, on the night of June 12 last year.
Perth Sheriff Court heard the factory, which manufactures insulation, is locked up and padlocked each night at 5pm.
At the time, there was scaffolding around the building.
At around 9pm, a witness was out walking when she saw Spooner and Bell on top of the factory, heard a gunshot and immediately ran back to her home.
The woman alerted a neighbour, who looked out and saw Bell holding the air gun.
Later, the men were seen climbing down from the roof.
Spooner was heard saying: “Did you get anything?”
This was followed by further gunshots, the court heard.
Police who were called contacted the factory manager, who advised that Spooner and Bell had been brought in as subcontractors to carry out repairs to the roof.
Both men were traced in a vehicle nearby, with two air rifles on the back seat.
The pair, who are both from Lichfield, Staffordshire, pled guilty by letter to possessing air rifles without a certificate and Bell admitted using his weapon.
Sheriff Grant McCulloch fined Spooner £325 and Bell £600.
‘Absolute c***’
An self-confessed “absolute c***” from Fife has been jailed after carrying out a life-endangering assault on his former partner, forcing her to flee through a window. Roy Ramsay was given a prison sentence at Dunfermline Sheriff Court after admitting the assault on the mother-of-three in Kincardine on January 15 2023.
Revenge Whatsapp
A man who called a revenge porn victim “the porn queen of Fife” has been ordered to keep away from her.
Shaun Blair, from Stoneyburn in West Lothian, admitted sending the grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing Whatsapp message on May 4 this year.
He pled guilty to the offence at Dunfermline Sheriff Court and was admonished but furnished with a year-long non-harassment order.
When he was arrested, the 36-year-old told police he sent the message “to get an instant feeling of satisfaction because I was upset.”
His solicitor Elaine Buist said: “She was calling him names with regard to his mental health.
“He doesn’t have anything analogous on his record.”
Sheriff Susan Duff said: “I can accept that this was done in a heightened state of emotion when you were upset.”
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