A thief who attacked a Perthshire farmer over his “right to roam” was secretly living in his victim’s caravan on his land.
Peter Thomson was carrying a knife and bizarrely claimed the static caravan was his when he was quizzed by livestock farmer Jonathan Weir.
Thomson, 38, of Potterhill Gardens, Perth, was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work as part of a two-year community payback order on Wednesday.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how Thomson told Mr Weir the caravan was his because he had the keys to it. But he had stolen them when he broke into the farmer’s tool shed.
Solicitor Martin Morrow, defending, said his client “had gone off the rails” and “things had been “going badly wrong.”
Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told the court that a 12-year-old boy had spotted Thomson in the area and reported it to Mr Weir.
“Mr Weir approached the accused and asked what he was doing,” Miss Robertson said. “He said he was exercising his right to roam.”
Thomson denied having been in the shed, but when Mr Weir demanded he show the contents of his bag, he immediately recognised the caravan keys.
“There were signs within the static caravan that the accused had been sleeping there for an unknown time,” Miss Robertson said.
Thomson admitted a string of charges including breaking into a shed at Whitehills Farm, Blackford, and stealing a knife and assaulting Mr Weir. He also admitted stealing caravan keys and breaching a curfew on November 15 last year.
He was placed on supervision for two years.
