Anti-T in Park campaigner walks free after case collapses

Man cleared of driving car recklessly towards festival workmen

An anti-T in the Park campaigner accused of driving towards festival workmen at high speed, forcing them to flee, has walked free from court after the case against him collapsed.

Mark Liddiard, who once launched a legal bid to stop the festival, went on trial after an alleged fracas near his home on the edge of the Strathallan Castle estate.

The 55-year-old always denied that he culpably and recklessly drove a car at excessive speed towards people carrying out work at the road outside his farm.

It was alleged that during the run-up to the 2015 festival, he had caused four workers to take evasive action to avoid being struck by his vehicle.

He went on trial at Perth Sheriff Court yesterday morning, but after less than half an hour of evidence, depute fiscal Robert Brown said he had decided not to pursue a conviction.

Sheriff Michael Fletcher told Liddiard he had been found not guilty and was free to leave the court.

Liddiard said afterwards: “I am pleased that the judicial system has demonstrated due diligence in finding me not guilty.

“This comes at the end of a long period of open hostility towards us, as we engaged in legitimate process to demonstrate that Strathallan Estate is the wrong location for T in the Park.’

Police charged Liddiard in June 2015, just weeks before T in the Park made its debut at Strathallan.

Festival worker Jack Nicholson told the court he had been on the road when he saw a car approaching “at high speed”. He identified the driver as Liddiard. Mr Nicholson said he was already aware that there was a dispute between Liddiard and the organisers of T in the Park.

“The car was coming towards me at high speed and I had to get out of the road very quickly,” he said. “It was hard to say what speed it was going at, but I did think: Wow, that’s fast.”

Asked by Mr Brown what would have happened if he didn’t get out of the way, Mr Nicholson replied: “I would have hoped that he would have stopped.”

The trial collapsed when Mr Nicholson said that Liddiard would have been able to brake in time if he had not moved. “He was quite some distance away,” he said.

Liddiard was one of the first to raise concerns about T in the Park’s controversial relocation to Strathallan Castle. In July 2014, he said he was prepared to take his case to the Court of Session.

This year, Liddiard and his wife Kim submitted a dossier of nearly 100 pages to Perth and Kinross Council licensing chiefs, calling for the festival to be refused a public entertainment licence.

In their submission, the couple urged councillors to “apply greater scrutiny than last year” to potential problems.

Mark Liddiard arrives at Perth Sheriff Court yesterday.