The father of a missing Fife man has been served with a temporary social media ban following an online row with a troll.
Allan Bryant Snr whose son, Allan, went missing more than seven years ago after leaving a nightclub near to his home in the early hours of November 3, 2013, was given the automated seven-day ban by Facebook on Saturday evening
He had reacted angrily to an individual allegedly making fun of his son’s disappearance.
The row flared on the For Sale Scotland Facebook page, for which Mr Bryant Snr is one of the moderators.
Mr Bryant Snr reportedly used offensive language when responding to posts by one individual seemingly making fun of his son’s disappearance.
The popular online selling site, which has almost 100,000 followers, has carried a permanent banner across the page for the past six years, advertising the Bryant family’s plight and the call for any information as to the missing man’s whereabouts.
Mr Bryant Snr, said he accepted the ban, which he called “unfortunate” but vowed to keep defending his family against online trolls.
He added: “Normally I would not have reacted as I’ve been subjected to this sort of abuse many times before but it caught me at a bad moment and I reacted in a way that I shouldn’t of and I apologise to anyone who was offended.
“I sent the person a private message and a row ensued.
“We were seemingly being trolled because the individual thought we just blamed the police for everything involving Allan’s disappearance.
“I’m a bit annoyed with myself as I normally try not to react.
“We’ve been subjected to some pretty awful and vile abuse and trolling in the past and even though I try to let it go it’s a difficult one to face at the best of times.”
Saturday’s incident is the latest the to which Bryant family have been subjected in the seven years since their loved one’s disappearance.
Dunfermline man, Stewart McInroy was jailed in 2014 for 10 months for bombarding the Bryant family with a series of vile taunts with claims he had tortured and killed the missing Glenrothes man.
McInroy was given a further eight month sentence in 2018 for similar online trolling offences which he later successfully appealed.
Ever since his son’s disappearance Mr Bryant Snr, has conducted a high profile online campaign to keep his family’s search for their missing loved one in the public eye.
