‘Sinister’ man drove 500 miles from Dorset to harass Perthshire family

An elderly man who travelled almost 500 miles to Perthshire to harass a distressed family has been fined £400.

Graham Curtis, of Blandford Forum, Dorset, was found guilty of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause fear and alarm in Crieff and Comrie between October 8 and 11 last year.

In September last year Curtis, 73, was given a restraining order by a court in Dorset banning him from going near Stephanie Pass and her daughter, Lauren.

The pensioner, described as “sinister” by the Crown, had posted letters containing lies about Mrs Pass to her friends and colleagues.

He tracked down family members in Comrie and Crieff and further harassed them repeatedly driving past Mrs Pass’s place of work, staring at her through a window, and sending emails to her father Philip, Perth Sheriff Court heard.

Mr Curtis argued it was “nonsense” to say his actions could have caused stress but his evidence was rejected by Sheriff William Wood.