The Commonwealth Games have impacted on the trial of an Angus pensioner charged with breaching a dangerous dogs ban.
Fiona Borders from Brechin is facing a charge of contravening a 10-year order banning her from keeping dogs, imposed in the wake of a series of attacks by her Staffordshire bull terriers.
Borders, 76, was found guilty after trial at Forfar Sheriff Court in April of allowing her pets to run out of control in Brechin and Montrose, leading to attacks on two elderly men and their dogs.
The sheriff in the case imposed an order prohibiting her from keeping dogs for 10 years after hearing Borders had been subject to a five-year ban on keeping animals in the late 1990s.
In the wake of the recent conviction, the pensioner, of Montrose Street, Brechin, was subsequently charged with contravening a section of the Dangerous Dogs Act by having a Staffordshire bull terrier or similar type dog in her custody on May 11, just weeks after her trial.
Borders continues to deny the charge, but previously told the court she was “babysitting” the animal.
She appeared back at court in Forfar before Sheriff Pino Di Emidio on Tuesday for an intermediate diet in the case and confirmed that she continued to represent herself, having been unsuccessful in a search for a lawyer.
She told the court: “I haven’t managed to find one yet, not one that I can trust. It’s better not to have a solicitor than to have one that is going to work against me.”
Borders had been due to face trial on August 5, but fiscal depute Hannah Kennedy made a Crown motion to adjourn the matter to a later date.
She said that police witnesses were unavailable for that date due to Commonwealth Games commitments. A number of other trial matters were also deferred at Forfar on Tuesday for the same reason.
Granting the motion, Sheriff Di Emidio continued the case to a further intermediate diet on September 18, with trial set for October 6.
The sheriff told Borders: “All I can do is reiterate the advice I gave you previously over how important it is, and in your best interests, to obtain legal advice.
“There are great calls on the police service and the Crown is applying to put this off to a later date, which will give you more time to obtain legal advice.”