Shear madness: garden tool row ends in court

Tempers flared after pair of garden shears left sitting on wire fence

An 82-year-old Fife man has been cleared of assaulting his pensioner neighbour in a bizarre row over a pair of garden shears leaning on a fence.

Douglas Eglan faced an allegation of repeatedly spitting on neighbour Frank Cation, 67, repeatedly pushing him and causing him to fall the ground to his injury.

But a sheriff found the case not proven after a sheriff described one of Mr Cation’s falls, caught on CCTV, as a “dive that would earn a Premiership footballer a yellow card”.

Depute fiscal John Adams added: “Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of it.”

Dundee Sheriff Court heard the rowing neighbours had begun arguing on May 29 last year after Eglan saw a pair of garden shears sitting on a wire mesh fence between their gardens that he had installed.

The row escalated with Mr Cation and Eglan standing eyeball to eyeball over the fence – where Mr Eglan allegedly spat on him and pushed him over twice.

But the 82-year-old claimed he had simply blown in Mr Cation’s face to scare him off because he could not move – and that he only lifted his hand to prevent Mr Cation pushing him.

The CCTV footage showed Mr Cation then taking a backwards fall moments later and lying flat on his back with his leg raised for several seconds.

He then jumped up and again confronted Eglan, before again taking a tumble on to the lawn.

Mr Cation’s wife, Davina, told the trial: “Frank never touched him, there was just verbals.

“The shears had been pushed off the fence with his (Eglan’s) walking stick and that started it.”

Solicitor Cheryl Wallace, defending, said: “Mr Eglan walks with two sticks – he is not in great physical health. His position is he did not push your husband.”

Mrs Cation replied: “There was definitely a one-handed push.” Mr Eglan later gave evidence. He said: “His face was half an inch from mine. I am as weak as a kitten – I couldn’t push him over.

“The CCTV camera had been put in a couple of days previously.

“It was all stage managed from the word go – that’s what made me angry.”

Mr Adams said: “You are saying there were theatrics?”

Mr Eglan replied: “He did it deliberately just to incriminate me.”

Eglan, 82, of Stratheden Place, Auchtermuchty, denied a charge of assault on summary complaint at the sheriff court.

Sheriff John Rafferty found the charge against Eglan not proven.

The charges against Douglas Eglan were found not proven.