Man drove car at couple
A KIRKCOLM man has been found guilty of assault by driving his car towards a couple and their dog as part of what they claim is an ongoing campaign of intimidation towards them by him.
George Gordon, 63, of Bayview Terrace, denied intimidating Ian Murray and Ruth Eastwood, both hoteliers at the Blue Peter Hotel in Kirkcolm, back in December 2010 and said he had no knowledge of the incident. He added that he hadn’t driven his car for weeks at that time of year due to poor weather, but Sheriff Kenneth Robb was otherwise persuaded following a trial at Stranraer Sheriff Court on Monday.
Mrs Eastwood told the court that she and her partner, Mr Murray, had been returning home from walking their dog at around 8am - but couldn’t give a specific date, saying her memory was fading as it was 14 months ago - when Gordon rounded a corner, saw them and crossed the carriageway towards them. She said she had pushed her partner out of the way as he couldn’t move fast due to a sore knee for which he was awaiting surgery.
Mr Murray gave evidence along the same lines and claimed Gordon’s wing mirror missed him “by a fraction of an inch.”
When asked if Mr Gordon and Mrs Eastwood disliked each other, Mrs Eastwood said: “I don’t dislike anyone - I’m a Christian.” And in answer to the same question, Gordon said: “I don’t even think about her.”
He told the sheriff that the bad blood between the two parties was Mrs Eastwood’s fault and that she would “tear into” him when she saw him and that she had “an awful tongue.”
He added that the friction stems back to a time when he reported the couple’s premises for selling alcohol to undergae girls several years ago.
He said: “I’ve heard these claims about me before but it’s just not in my make-up to do something like this.”
But Mrs Eastwood said she had been warned about Gordon before they moved into the village and that this was one of several similar incidents of intimidation and that she didn’t think he had intended to hit them - just scare them.
Sheriff Kenneth Robb said that he believed the “credible” evidence given by the two witnesses and that whilst Gordon may have known he had no intention of hitting the couple, they couldn’t have been as sure.
He fined Gordon £400 and disqualified him from driving for four months.
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Weather for Newton Stewart
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
