Sheriff finds council banking chief guilty of stalking ex-partner

Man began leaving his car in her street and tried to buy property nearby

A council finance boss has been convicted of stalking and risks having an electronic tag strapped to his ankle.

Ronnie Hunter, 56, Edinburgh City Council’s treasury and banking finance manager, was found guilty of stalking a senior council social work manager. He also inquired about buying a house in her street.

Hunter, a member of Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, could also be served with a non-harassment order and sentenced to unpaid work for loitering “almost daily” near Annabelle Cameron’s home in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire.

Ms Cameron, who works for Clackmannanshire Council, ended their three year relationship in 2017 but a court heard he “wouldn’t accept it was over”.

Hunter began driving from his home in Glasgow to Bridge of Allan and parked “almost daily” in her street then caught the train to his Edinburgh office.

Questioned by police, Hunter said he was thinking about buying a house in her road and looked at one property just 300 yards from Ms Cameron’s.

Ms Cameron, 57, told Stirling Sheriff Court Hunter had “frightened the life out of her” and made her seek counselling.

She said: “We were over. I didn’t understand why he was still wandering round the streets and hanging about.

“It got to the stage that I dreaded coming home because I knew his car was going to be there.”

Hunter, of Buccleuch Street, Garnethill, Glasgow, denied stalking, but elected not to give evidence.

His solicitor, Stephen Maguire, said Hunter had hoped to set up home in Bridge of Allan with a new partner in Ms Cameron’s street and submitted there was “nothing illegal” in that. He said Hunter drove to Bridge of Allan instead of Edinburgh because the daily commute down the M8 was “too stressful”.

After a two-day summary trial, Sheriff Simon Collins found Hunter guilty of stalking Ms Cameron between April and November last year.

He said: “For six months he was parking his car almost every day in her street, in a small part of a town he doesn’t live in, and doesn’t work in.

“He knew or ought to have known in all the circumstances that engaging in such a course of conduct would cause her fear and alarm.”

Sentence was deferred until June 5 for reports and Hunter was bailed.

We were over. I didn’t understand why he was still wandering round the streets and hanging about

Ronnie Hunter decided not to give evidence at his Stirling Sheriff Court trial.