A drunken Angus man ruined a German couple’s holiday in Scotland when he made Nazi salutes and played a Third Reich anthem on their train.
John Clenaghan was blasted at Perth Sheriff Court when his ill-fated attempt at humour left the tourists upset and alarmed as they travelled into Tayside on May 25 last year.
Boozed-up bigot Clenaghan tormented the couple after finding out their nationality and he was eventually reported to police by other passengers.
The show-jumping instructor was ordered to complete unpaid work as a direct alternative to imprisonment.
Taunted tourists
Prosecutor Elizabeth Hodgson said events began on the quiet Scotrail Inverness to Edinburgh train at about 9.30pm when Clenaghan and the tourists boarded.
“The accused interacts with the man, they engage in casual conversation where the accused ascertains this couple are from Germany.
“About 10 seconds later, the accused raises his left arm in a Nazi-style salute.
“He does this again when the conductor of the train is going through the carriage.”
Another time, Clenaghan put two fingers to his top lip, mimicking Adolf Hitler’s moustache, while saluting.
The 35-year-old also played music loudly from his phone.
“The music being played, I understand, is a song that is associated with the Third Reich,” Ms Hodgson added.
Over the space of half-an-hour, Clenaghan repeatedly made fascist salutes and the couple moved away.
The court heard the holidaymakers were left “extremely distressed and upset” and “extremely alarmed.”
‘Wheels had fallen off’
Clenaghan was reported to police by other passengers.
His solicitor Sarah Russo labelled his offending “an act of utter stupidity”.
“This was an alcohol-fuelled incident.
“Mr Clenaghan had been travelling to Inverness that day with his partner. The vehicle he had been in had broken down.
“He’d gone off to a local public house and had been taking alcohol.
“They thereafter boarded a train. He fully accepts he was intoxicated at that stage in the day.
“He continued drinking on the train. He’d taken tins of beer out of a carrier bag he had at his feet.
“He is truly ashamed of his actions.
“He’s someone who has had longstanding issues with alcohol. He tells me at this time, the wheels had fallen off.
“He thought he was being humorous and that his actions at the time were funny.
“His actions did exactly the opposite. He does apologise for his actions and he is remorseful.”
‘Disgraceful’
Clenaghan, of Tulloes, near Forfar, previously admitted acting in a racially aggravated threatening or abusive manner.
He pled guilty to playing music and other audio and repeatedly performing Nazi-style salutes while the train travelled between Newtonmore and Pitlochry.
Sheriff Clair McLachlan ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work in the next 10 months as a direct alternative to prison.
She said: “You may well hang your head in shame listening to that… disgraceful behaviour and not remotely funny or humorous.”
Clenaghan has previously been convicted of drink-driving in 2018 and 2020, as well as failing to provide police with a breath sample after crashing his private-plated Land Rover in 2021.
After he was taken to Ninewells following the collision, he ranted about a police officer’s briefcase containing a bomb.
In 2018, Clenaghan was lauded for helping pull four people from collision wreckage before paramedics arrived.
For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
