A man accused of driving dangerously at teenagers in a Perthshire town has told how he was “terrorised” for more than two years by local youths armed with eggs, snowballs, conkers and pizzas.
Graeme Duncan said he went searching for “eggers” after his Auchterarder home was hit on Halloween night.
The 59-year-old drove around town and questioned local children about the attacks.
But he denies he struck one of the youngsters with his car.
Lorry driver Duncan is on trial at Perth Sheriff Court, accused of driving his grey Nissan car dangerously through Hunter Street and High Street on October 31, 2019, mounting a pavement before driving towards a 15-year-old boy, causing the vehicle to strike him.
He is further accused of driving dangerously along Crown Wynd on the same night, and driving at speed towards two 16-year-old boys.
Duncan, of High Street, Auchterarder, is alleged to have been in possession of an offensive weapon, such as a bat or similar.
He denies all charges.
On the second day of his trial, Duncan was acquitted of two counts of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and a charge of assaulting a 14-year-old.
Tormented
Taking the witness stand, Duncan said he had been tormented by a small group of hoodie-wearing teenagers for more than two years.
“It started with snowballs,” he said. “Then they progressed to throwing eggs, conkers, pizzas and noodles.”
The court heard that despite repeated calls to police, no arrests were ever made.
Jurors were shown details of a police log, which noted that Duncan reported being “terrorised by local youths”.
Duncan told solicitor David Holmes it was difficult to identify the culprits. “They’re usually wearing hoodies,” he said. “The hoods are pulled so tight, there is just a small slit to look through.”
Halloween night
On Halloween evening, Duncan returned home from a family trip to a local care home.
“Suddenly there was a bang,” he said. “Two eggs hit the kitchen window. I’m sure I heard another one miss.”
Duncan said he left the house. “I knew they ran down Montrose Road,” he said.
“There was four of them. I jumped into the car and drove off in that direction.”
The court heard that he was joined by three teenage girls, who helped him hunt for the egg-throwers.
After he stopped to question one teenager, he found a half-broken broomstick by his home.
“I thought if I found the other half of this stick, I would find someone who was with the eggers,” he said.
‘Troublesome’ youth
Duncan later spotted three teenagers in Crown Wynd, including one boy he described as “troublesome”. He approached him in the car, but decided not to get out and speak to them.
“I didn’t even wind the windows down,” he said. “I very slowly drove out and headed home.”
Questioned by fiscal depute Alistair McDermott, Duncan said he didn’t drive at the boys at speed.
“It’s a 30mph limit,” he said. “That car was completely under control.”
Duncan told Mr McDermott that he was “annoyed, but not angry” by the repeated attacks on his home.
“We expect trouble on Halloween,” he said. “But we have had more Halloweens than just Halloween.”
He denied “taking action into his own hands” after a call to the police went straight to answering machine.
The trial, before Sheriff Linda Smith, continues.
