Ayrshire Post

Nazi shame of ex- Belmont boy

Posted racist and anti- gay slogans

- Sarah Hilley

A schoolboy racist plastered Nazi slogan stickers over Ayr.

Former Belmont Academy pupil Connor McKechnie, 18, posted vile homophobic and xenophobic messages on streets last year. Wearing a shirt under a neat jumper as he stood in the dock, he admitted carrying out the sick propaganda campaign at Ayr Sheriff Court on Monday.

A crossed out rainbow flag, images of Hitler and the phrase ‘ Britain is ours, the rest must go’ were some of the messages on the offending stickers. Hateful slogans of that type are often linked to banned neo- Nazi group National Action. It has been branded a terrorist organisati­on by the Home Office and members could end up in prison.

McKechnie, of Glendale Crescent, Belmont, will find out his fate next month after his lawyer Peter Lockhart lodged a guilty plea.

Sheriff John Montgomery ordered a background report to be prepared before deciding on a punishment.

McKechnie pled guilty to behaving in a threatenin­g or abusive manner, which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm by repeatedly placing a quantity of stickers in public places portraying offensive racist and homophobic messages.

He stuck them on Inverkar Road and Chalmers Road in Castlehill and elsewhere between July 1 and November 1 last year.

His actions were spurred on by prejudices against gay and foreign people according to prosecutor­s.

It is understood all the stickers have been scrubbed off or painted over by South Ayrshire Council wokers.

 ??  ?? Guilty Schoolboy Connor McKechnie
Guilty Schoolboy Connor McKechnie

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