A Dundee man who spent two weeks in Perth Prison after charges against him were dropped claims he was arrested because of his ginger hair.
Max MacAskill was only released from prison on Monday, two weeks after prosecutors had dropped charges against him.
Mr MacAskill, who has a string of previous criminal convictions, blamed Tayside Police for arresting him for a crime he did not commit and says he was only charged because when they had received reports of a shoplifter with ginger hair they automatically assumed it was him.
“I’m quite angry. I kent from the start it was a right load of rubbish,” he said. “On the Saturday it was supposed to have happened me and my brother were away down in Berwick-upon-Tweed.
“When the police got me I was cycling through town and they just grabbed me off the bike. They said they had a report of a boy with ginger hair shoplifting and as soon as they heard that they came and got me.’If any ginger boy steals they blame me'”It’s not fair that if any ginger boy steals they blame me. If they’d checked the CCTV they would have seen it wasn’t me.”
Mr MacAskill said his earlier experiences of jail had made his time in Perth Prison more bearable but that he would still be seeking compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
“That was quite a long time to be in jail for something I didn’t do. I had all the tickets and everything to say I was in Berwick,” he said.
“It’s just a lack of them investigating. I’ve been in Perth Prison a few times so it was not too bad but it’s not right I was kept in for so long.
“My solicitor says he’s going to put a claim in for me. It’s their fault they’re not doing their checks.”
Mr MacAskill had been accused of stealing games console controllers from Game in Murraygate on August 4. He was arrested and appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court on August 6, where he denied all the charges.
On August 20 prosecutors wrote to Dundee Sheriff Court saying there was no further action to be taken against him.
However, rather than being released from custody, Mr MacAskill was sent back to Perth Prison where he remained until he was taken to Dundee Sheriff Court for a pre-trial hearing on Monday.
He was finally released after Sheriff Alistair Duff asked why the case was being called when it had been dropped a fortnight earlier.’The court’s fault’Mr MacAskill added: “I was in court and was in (Tayside Police headquarters) Bell Street and they obviously didn’t tell G4S security.
“So it’s not really their fault, it’s the court’s. You can’t blame the jail either.”
The Crown Office has refused to take responsibility for the blunder and claims the case remains under review, although a statement said the Crown accepted Mr MacAskill’s plea of not guilty on Monday.
A police spokeswoman said: “Whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, where there is sufficient evidence, a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal, and it is a decision for them whether to proceed.”