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The Courier
26-05-2025
- The Courier
Monday court round-up — Crying biker and attempted murder trial ordered
A 23-year-old man accused of stabbing a woman in a murder bid near Dundee's docks has been ordered to stand trial. allegedly attempted to murder the 35-year-old woman on May 14. Also known as Tommy Craig, Wallace allegedly grabbed the woman and dragged her to the ground on Stannergate Road and Broughty Ferry Road. It is alleged he repeatedly struck her on the head and body with a knife to her injury. Wallace, of Broughty Ferry Road, was previously remanded in custody after appearing on petition at Dundee Sheriff Court. He continued to make no plea when he made a second appearance at the same court in connection with the allegations. No motion for bail was made and Sheriff Gregor Murray continued Wallace's remand in custody after fully committing him for trial. A hapless enforcer who set fire to himself while torching a car in Dundee has been dubbed 'Scotland's dumbest criminal' by a sheriff. was acting on the orders of gangland figures to set fire to three vehicles across Dundee in targeted attacks. A murderer, who claims he stabbed his victim after being bottled by a Fife teenager in Edinburgh, has been jailed for life. , 21, was ordered to serve 15 years in jail before he is eligible to apply for release after murdering Lewis McCartney in a street attack in the city. At the High Court in Edinburgh Lord Matthews said Mr McCartney, 18, was 'robbed' of his future. Londoner Dowling armed himself with a knife before he left a flat to meet a group, which included Mr McCartney, prior to the fatal violence on February 12 2023 at Viewcraig Street. Before he fled Edinburgh he abandoned the murder weapon in the grounds of Holyrood Palace. Dowling, who was aged 19 at the time, had denied murder and claimed he acted in self-defence but was convicted after a trial. He said he did not intend to harm the victim but was trying to get away after he was struck on the head with a bottle by another member of the group. He said: 'I was dazed and confused after I was hit and then I took out the knife.' He disputed evidence he had the knife in his hand before he was struck with the bottle. , 21, of Broomhill Avenue, Burntisland, was convicted of assaulting Dowling by striking him on the head with a bottle. He was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work under a two-year community payback order. An electrician from Perth stole £70,000 from his own business, transferring money into his account under the reference 'booze fund' and using cash for holidays, restaurants and cinema trips. admitted embezzling from North Muirton-based My Eco Solutions over a five-year period. A Fife man who was verbally abusive to his partner after an argument about drugs 'running out' has been fined £300. , 34, of Central Way, Dalgety Bay, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to a domestically-aggravated offence of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting and swearing at the woman on February 6 this year at his home. Prosecutor Isma Mukhtar told the court Gillan and the woman were drinking prosecco together and at around 10pm, she challenged him about 'lying in relation to an unspecified matter'. Defence lawyer Chris Sneddon said it happened 'because the drugs ran out'. Sheriff Susan Duff fined Gillan £300 and told him, though it is a lot for someone on benefits, it reflects the number of previous convictions he has with domestic aggravations. A brute who bit a chunk out of a neighbour's ear during an 'animalistic' assault has been spared a prison sentence. 's shocking attack on Darren McKay unfolded in front of children on a summer's morning in the Fintry area of Dundee. A teenager who repeatedly kicked and stamped on his victim's head in an attack at Glenrothes bus station has been jailed for 18 months after failing to comply with his community order. , 19, previously pled guilty to the life-endangering assault on a 17-year-old boy, while acting with others, on April 27 2023. Robinson, then 18, told police his victim 'started on me so I smashed him'. Prosecutor Lee-Anne Barclay told a court previously the victim was described as acting aggressively and shouting at people after alighting a bus and a group brought him to the ground and attacked him. In September last year, Robinson, of Lochiebank Place, Auchtermuchty, was given 200 hours of unpaid work and put on offender supervision for three years. He has done 75 hours of the work. As he watched via videolink to prison, Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard he was remanded on May 14 in respect of a CPO review. Defence lawyer Shona Westwood acknowledged his CPO review report is 'awful' and has no excuse for the way he has behaved to social workers, not detailed in court. The solicitor referred to the report in stating her client has been struggling with his mental health and has voices telling him to harm people. Ms Westwood asked for Robinson's liberation to investigate how his mental health is impacting his ability to do the CPO. She said he has done 75 hours of the unpaid work. Sheriff James Williamson told Robinson: 'You were convicted of a serious assault, including kicking and stamping on someone's head. 'Given your age at the time, you were given the opportunity to show you could comply with a CPO'. 'Other than one occasion seemingly, you have failed and the report is utterly unacceptable'. The sheriff revoked the CPO and re-sentenced Robinson to 18 months in detention, backdated to when he was remanded. A cocaine dealer caught after a homophobic attack in a Dundee bar has been ordered to perform the maximum number of unpaid work hours. endured a rollercoaster sentencing hearing as he was placed in handcuffs in the dock before being released when a sheriff imposed a last-resort alternative to a jail term. A teenage motorcyclist broke down in tears after being caught doing high-speed wheelies by police in an unmarked car. was spotted by police, whizzing along pavements by Leslie Road on his off-road bike. Fiscal depute Eve McKaig told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court: 'The motorbike drove at high speed, well in excess of the road speed.' The 18-year-old was confronted by officers as he tried to store the bike in his grandmother's garage. Ms McKaig added: 'The accused appeared sweaty and was upset and crying.' Solicitor David Cranston, defending, said Etienne had long experience of riding bikes off-road. He said: 'He's played on motorbikes all his years. 'He kept it at his gran's house and he had been picked up in a van and went to a friend's house but the van didn't turn up to take him home. 'He didn't want to leave it there unattended so he made the stupid decision to drive it home.' Etienne, of Scott Road, Glenrothes admitted driving dangerously on January 19 this year and having no insurance. Sheriff Robert More fined him £100 and disqualified him from driving for 12 months and until he sits the extended test.
The Courier
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Perth electrician stole £70k from own business for 'booze fund', foreign trip and dating site
An electrician from Perth stole £70,000 from his own business, transferring money into his account under the reference 'booze fund' and using cash for holidays, restaurants and cinema trips. Scott Bathgate admitted embezzling from North Muirton-based My Eco Solutions over a five-year period. Bathgate, formerly of Blackford, used the company account to fund his personal lifestyle, including travel outside the UK and on a dating site. The offender, who has been on bail since appearing at Perth Sheriff Court in 2022, is now awaiting sentence. Fiscal depute Duncan Mackenzie explained Bathgate and colleague Douglas Hamilton had both been made redundant from another firm in 2011 and set the company up together, investing £3,000 each. Due to Bathgate's poor credit, his brother was registered as a director. The company opened a company account with Barclays but later switched to the Clydesdale bank. Bathgate, who like Mr Hamilton was taking a wage of £200 a week, was given full responsibility for finance and admininstration. Mr Mackenzie said: 'Over time, it became apparent Mr Bathgate was struggling to manage the bookkeeping.' Unbeknownst to Mr Hamilton, the company was racking up fines. In 2016, an office manager was employed to take over the finance and admin work. Bathgate refused to provide her with login details and failed to provide receipts for purchases. It was found he had used business funds to make personal purchases. One transfer from the Barclay's account to Bathgate's own was under the reference 'booze fund'. On other occasions, the card was found to have been used at a cinema, restaurants, travel outside the UK and a dating website. After Bathgate returned his company computer in 2018, he did not return to work. Bathgate admitted that on various occasions between December 17 in 2012 and July 26 in 2017, he embezzled various sums while working as director and subcontractor of My Eco Solutions Ltd. He pled guilty to transferring funds from a bank account held in name of the St Kilda Place-headquartered business into a bank account held in his own name and using two company bank accounts to purchase goods and services and pay bills. Bathgate, now of Scone, admitted embezzling £70,000, having initially been charged with swindling the firm out of £126,330.71 The 45-year-old's only previous conviction was a driving offence more than 20 years ago. His solicitor Lyndsey Barber explained since the offences took place, Bathgate has suffered from haemorrhages. Sheriff William Wood deferred sentencing until July 3 and continued the bail orderon which Bathgate has been for three years. The sheriff ordered background reports and said: 'Clearly the court must, in these circumstances, consider a custodial sentence.'
Daily Record
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Jeanfield Swifts' £2.4 million plans to upgrade training facilities
The Perth-based community club has 25 teams and over 450 players aged six to over 60, with over a third being female Jeanfield Swifts Football Club is drawing up plans for an ambitious £2.4 million development of its training facilities at Riverside Stadium on Perth's Bute Drive. The club's aim is to create "an accessible destination for football participants throughout the city". The North Muirton-based community club has submitted a proposal of application notice to Perth and Kinross Council to create two full-size synthetic pitches and add seating, paths, landscaping and fencing. Councillors were given the chance to raise areas for consideration - as part of the planning process - at a meeting of the Planning and Placemaking Committee on Wednesday, May 14. Two public consultations on the plans were held at Riverside Stadium last month. Earlier this year, Perth and Kinross Council committed £100,000 towards the project and £300,000 has been secured from the Jeanfield Swifts Football Club Endowment Trust. Last month the community club submitted a bid for major funding from the Scottish Football Facilities Fund, administered by the Scottish Football Association. The project's aim is to create an all-year-round facility which the club - which has 25 teams and over 450 players aged six to over 60 - can train on all-year-round. Jeanfield Swifts currently has a grass pitch at Riverside Stadium - on long-term lease from Perth and Kinross Council - and effectively has exclusive use of three outside pitches through a seasonal pitch lets agreement with Perth and Kinross Council. The plan is to replace the stadium pitch with a synthetic pitch, add a synthetic pitch at the back, and return the remaining greenspace to Community Greenspace. Currently, players are unable to train on the unlit grass pitches for six months of the year and end up training on facilities in the Perth and Kinross school estate such as Bertha Park High School's. A club spokesperson said: "Our plans are to create a major new facility with two all-weather pitches and reconfigure existing built infrastructure to respond to the needs of a diverse user base. This will give us a year-round home and also free up space across the Perth and Kinross schools estate for other local clubs, as we currently dominate evening slots on the PKC pitches over the winter." Approximately one third of Jeanfield Swifts' members are female, and the club has plans to grow this with the addition of a women's senior team in Tier Five of Scottish Women's Football next season. The club also has a number of social programmes including: women's walking football, Welcome League for asylum seekers, holiday camps for local children and School of Football with Perth Grammar. It also aims to offer "turn-up-and-play" sessions after school, allowing free community usage of one of the pitches. At Wednesday's meeting, Bailie Mike Williamson suggested, planning consideration be given to having "suitable noise kick boards or boards around the site to reduce the noise as balls hit the fences, etc.". He added: "Also suitable drainage, landscaping and mitigations against light pollution from the floodlights." Following the meeting a club spokesperson said: "Jeanfield Swifts believes in the power of football to change lives. We already have a big impact on many local youngsters and other community members, and this project will allow us to improve our offer to women and girls, people whose opportunities are limited by physical and mental wellbeing and others who are marginalised. Riverside25 opens the door to mass participation in healthy activity, improving social cohesion and reducing the burden on health services." A detailed planning application for the development will be submitted to the council in due course.
