A two-and-a-half-year court saga has finally come to a close with a frail Perthshire pig farmer narrowly escaping a prison sentence.
Peter Roy had at one time faced up to four years after repeatedly breaching an anti-social behaviour order requiring him to stop dumping barrels of human excrement on public land.
Roy (72), who runs a piggery at Craigmuir Farm, Madderty, was given his ASBO in May 2007, having previously served a prison sentence in relation to similar offences.
The order prohibited him from depositing human excrement, urine or animal waste within the Perth and Kinross Council area, other than on land he owned.
However, he was found guilty of breaching the order on three separate occasions.
He was due to have been sentenced for the breaches at Perth Sheriff Court earlier this month, but appeared from the cells in handcuffs on Tuesday having been arrested after failing to turn up.LeniencyNonetheless, Sheriff Lindsay Foulis decided to show leniency after hearing Roy had finally cleaned up his act.
Despite earlier warnings that he could face up to four years’ imprisonment, Sheriff Foulis imposed a £900 fine, which will be paid in instalments of £10 per week.
Roy has been at the centre of the problem for many years, bringing him into conflict with his neighbours, Perth and Kinross Council and the courts.
He has often claimed to be having difficulty disposing of his waste and has used his visits to court to blame Perth and Kinross Council for many of his troubles.
A spokesman for the local authority said council workers had been allowed access to Craigmuir Farm at the end of January, when they removed a significant amount of waste, including a stockpile of excrement-filled barrels.
The spokesman added there had been no additional complaints regarding Roy’s conduct since then.
Roy’s solicitor Billy Somerville told the court his client was keen to see the matter brought to a close.
“These cases have been rumbling on for some time, one of them for over two-and-a-half years,” he said.
“Mr Roy is keen to see that matters come to an end today.”CarerMr Somerville extended his client’s apologies for his failure to appear in court, explaining Roy was his wife’s carer and could not find a replacement carer to enable him to be absent.
Sheriff Foulis had previously deferred sentence for Roy to be of good behaviour, warning the pensioner that his patience was running out.
He had told Roy to sort out his problems with waste collection or “face the consequences,” which could have included his imprisonment.
“These were flagrant breaches,” he said. “You knew very well what you were doing.”
Nonetheless, the sheriff said he was now willing to deal with the matter by way of a restricted fine, taking into account Roy’s “limited means, his age and that the initial court matter had been resolved through his co-operation with the local authority.”
Roy was jailed in February 2005 after breaching a council abatement order by repeatedly depositing containers of human excrement at a road end near his home the previous year.
He had insisted that the council was obliged to collect the excrement, which he had had stored in bin bags, metal drums and plastic barrels.
The court heard that it had eventually cost the local authority £13,000 to remove Roy’s waste.