Accused slammed for delay

A Paisley man has been blasted by a sheriff for causing the court case against him to stall.

Ben Brown is due to go on trial facing four charges.

These are: struggling violently with police; behaving in a threatening or abusive way by shouting, swearing and threatening violence; assaulting a female police officer by repeatedly headbutting her and nipping her and assaulting a male cop by repeatedly pinching him.

He denies committing the offences in Seedhill Road, Paisley, on March 16.

At a pre- trial hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court on Tuesday, it emerged he had not been granted legal aid as he had not handed in a copy of his bank statement.

He claimed he did not know he was supposed to do this because he had moved house and had not received a letter from his solicitors asking for it.

But Sheriff Colin Pettigrew told the 26-year-old to buck his ideas up, unless he wants to represent himself in his trial.

He said: “You need to get your act together. Do you want your lawyer to appear for you at your trial? Yes?

“You’re going about it the wrong way.

“Are you going to go to the bank and get that bank statement? Yes?

“You better be back here on Thursday and you better have that bank statement.”

A pre-trial hearing is now due to take place today and the trial is scheduled for tomorrow.