A campaign has been launched to pay the court fine of a man who has lived by the side of the A9 for more than three years.
At Perth Sheriff Court on Thursday Charles Ingram admitted assaulting a court-appointed officer who had been sent to evict him from the roadside home.
The 69-year-old struck Roderick Stevenson, a messenger-at-arms from the Court of Session, over the head with a mug on September 30. Mr Stevenson had been ordered to enforce a warrant for the removal of Mr Ingram’s encampment.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis fined Mr Ingram £1000 and ordered him to pay £100 in compensation to his victim.
Hundreds of the pensioner’s supporters have now joineda Facebook group set up to help him back on his feet.
The group’s foundershave also set up a fundraising pageand offers of clothing and food have also begun pouring in.Lorna Taylor said she was moved to help Mr Ingram after he offered her assistance following a motor break-down earlier this week.“Charles helped me when my van broke down and then two days later this kicked off,” she said. “He fixed my vehicle and got me on the road and I couldn’t get back to thank him because of this. It’s such a sad end with the way it was dealt with.
“We are led to believe that they’ve skipped his things everything that man ever had in his life is gone.
“He’s a pensioner, he’s not got money and they’ve hit him with a £1000 fine and £100 in compensation to the man he allegedly struck. How’s he going to pay that with his pension money? It’s going to be a millstone round his neck.
“He’s starting from scratch he’s got nothing. We want to help him out by paying the fine and help him start afresh.”
The 50-year-old, who lives in Stirling, added that the group’s Facebook page had gained 1000 followers in its first 12 hours.
“I’m overwhelmed by how this page has grown and the support that is out there,” said Lorna. “There are some very bitter people out there who are against Charles, but the gentleman did absolutely no harm.”
Mr Ingram began living at the side of the A9 in March 2012 following an apparent neighbour dispute.
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