A Dunfermline man has been admonished for entering a neighbour’s garden uninvited with a hammer because he was angry about him working on cars late at night.
David Crawford, 67, shouted and swore at the man while brandishing the tool on June 20 this year outside a property in the city’s Tay Terrace.
Procurator fiscal depute Zahra Bhatti told Dunfermline Sheriff Court the neighbour had been working on a car in his driveway at around 10:20pm that night.
As he left the vehicle, he was surprised to see Crawford standing at the back of the car.
Ms Bhatti said: “Initially the complainer had asked what he was doing but the accused asked if he knew what time this was.
“He was clearly unhappy about the noise coming from the car.
“The accused was angry and was shouting and swearing and said the word ‘f**k’.
“As the complainer was walking out the garden, the complainer saw the accused to be carrying a hammer and this frightened him and was making him think about what the accused’s initial intention was.
“This was caught on CCTV.”
‘You try sleeping with engines roaring’
Police were contacted and Crawford told them: “You want to have heard the noise at 10:30pm and I only had the hammer because I was using it in my house.”
Crawford, representing himself in court, pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by brandishing a hammer and entering a garden in Tay Terrace uninvited and shouting and swearing.
He told the court he regretted his actions but claimed the late night noise had been “going on for months” and several older people lived in the area.
He said: “You try sleeping at night with engines roaring their heads off.”
When asked by Sheriff William Gilchrist if he had contacted the council, Crawford claimed he was unable to get hold of a councillor.
The sheriff advised he write to the chief executive of the local authority.
Sheriff Gilchrist told him: “I will admonish you but don’t do anything like this again.”
Crawford, of Tay Terrace in the city’s Abbeyview, thanked the sheriff as he left the dock.
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