Broughty Ferry man accused of murder appears in court

Sheriff court: David Reid is alleged to have stabbed Mark Johnston last October

A man has appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court accused of murdering an Angus factory worker.

David Reid, 45, of Nursery Road in Broughty Ferry, is alleged to have stabbed Mark Johnston to death on October 20 last year.

Reid appeared in private before Sheriff Alastair Brown on a petition alleging on that date, at Nursery Road, Broughty Ferry, he assaulted Mr Johnston by repeatedly striking him on the body with a knife and murdered him.

Reid made no plea during his short appearance at Dundee Sheriff Court and was fully committed for trial.

Sheriff Brown remanded Reid in custody.

It is understood Reid has been in custody since the day of his arrest last year.

Friends paid tribute to factory worker Mr Johnston, who is originally from Montrose, following the news of his death last year, describing him as a “lovely person who helped everyone”.

Speaking to the Evening Telegraph in October, his friend Lesley Clifton, 53, of Montrose, said Mr Johnston would regularly visit Dundee to attend St Salvador’s Church, in St Salvador Street, and the Main Street Café at Coldside Parish Church.

She said: “Mark was such a lovely person who helped everyone.

“We kept in regular contact and when I hadn’t heard from him I started to worry. I was told by a friend – I’m devastated.”

She said that Mr Johnston would regularly take the bus down to Dundee to visit an uncle who lives in the city.

Another friend, Dennis Robb, 67, also of Montrose, said he first met Mr Johnston at the Chivers factory in Montrose back in 1984.

He said: “He was such a quiet lad and wouldn’t say boo to a cow.”

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Mark was such a lovely person who helped everyone