CRY FOR HELP
A former footballer tormented by illness threatens suicide from a motorway bridge two days running Despite her needing counselling and treatment, cruel sheriff warns she faces jail if she tries again
A FORMER football captain tormented by a rare illness twice threatened suicide on a road bridge.
Kimberley Macfarlane was left in pain and despair after injury brought on the illness.
But yesterday a sheriff who was told of her torment threatened to jail the former
Suicide threats on M-way bridge closed roads and halted traffic for two days running
Dunfermline Athletic women’s team captain if she does it again.
Last night, he came under attack from charity campaigners and from Lib Dem health spokesman Alex ColeHamilton, who said it was clear she needed mental health treatment rather than threats of custody.
Kimberley, 23, pled guilty at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to disorderly conduct and breach of the peace at a flyover on the M90 near Kingseat.
The court heard that she threatened to jump from the motorway bridge two days in succession – on January 14 and 15.
Her actions brought traffic to a halt on both occasions.
The court heard the young footballer’s life went into a tailspin after she broke her nose during a match and developed Fowler’s Syndrome.
The condition, which affects one woman in a million, leaves sufferers unable to urinate.
Since then, Kimberley has had to fight extreme pain and mental health issues as a result.
On a previous occasion, she jumped from a motorway bridge, suffering a serious back injury.
Jane Rennie, prosecuting, said that Kimberley was a patient in Dunfermline’s Queen Margaret Hospital at the time of the offences.
On January 14, she was given a pass to go out and she was due to be discharged the following day.
Police were contacted by hospital staff at 12.40pm on Sunday after they received information that she was going to jump off a motorway flyover.
“A number of roads in the area were closed and a road block was imposed on the M90. She was found sitting at the side of the bridge making threats to jump,” said Ms Rennie.
“After some time she agreed to remove herself and was taken back to hospital.”
At 10am the next day, hospital staff again contacted police to say she had left. At 10.40am she was spotted by a witness back at the bridge and road closures were again put in place.
Russel McPhate, defending, said complications of Kimberley’s broken nose led to further health problems.
He added: “There was a deterioration in her mental health and she had jumped from a bridge on a previous occasion. She’s likely to self-harm again.”
Sheriff Craig McSherry admonished Kimberley but said if she continued to pose a risk of further offending, a custodial sentence may be necessary.
He added: “A custodial sentence would at least mean the public are not being inconvenienced in this way.”
Susannah Fraser, of Bladder Health UK, a charity who support sufferers of conditions including Fowler’s Syndrome, said Kimberley needed counselling and treatment, not threats of jail time.
She said: “It’s extremely sad that the impact this condition has had on her has not been properly understood.
“Fowler’s Syndrome is a thoroughly unpleasant condition. It can lead to anxiety and depression and can create a miserable way of life.
“Sufferers of chronic bladder illnesses have a much higher than average rate of suicide because it’s so painful and debilitating.
Cole-Hamilton said: “The system has let this poor young lady down.
“The fact that it’s even considered that prison is used as a solution to a mental health crisis is a national outrage.”
Kimberley could not be reached for comment last night.