‘Horror’ at tent incident

A TEENAGE boy was indecently assaulted by former TV weatherman Fred Talbot after a visit to the pub on a school camping trip left the pupil “very much the worse for wear,” a court has heard.

The witness, who is now in his 50s, told of his “horror” when he awoke in a tent to find himself partially clothed and Talbot touching him.

He told jurors he used the force of his fist to knock Talbot off him and said the events left him feeling physically and mentally ill the next day.

Talbot, 67, is on trial at Lanark Sheriff Court, where he denies indecently assaulting several teenage boys on school trips to Scotland in the 1970s and 1980s.

He is further accused of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour towards a boy aged 12 on a trip, a charge he also denies.

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he was 15 when he went on a weekend excursion organised by Talbot to a place near Dumfries in 1979.

At that time, Talbot was a biology teacher at the school he attended in the Manchester area, the court heard.

On one of the evenings, he said he was “singled out” to go to a local pub with Talbot.

The witness said he consumed eight pints and a whisky chaser over the course of the night with Talbot, recalling other boys on the trip came to the pub at some point.

The witness said his next recollection at the campsite was of his arm being pulled and the accused trying to put the pupil’s hand on his [Talbot’s] private parts.

The accused was also trying to perform a sex act on him, the court heard.

The witness said some of his clothing had been removed.

“My initial reaction was one of horror,” he said, adding that the force from his fist hitting the teacher’s chin “knocked him off me”.

The trial, before Sheriff Nikola Stewart, continues.