Planning executive had indecent image of a child on mobile phone

A planning executive who worked for the country’s leading lobby group has been caught with an indecent image of a child on his mobile phone.

Blair Melville was warned by a sheriff that he could be sent to prison or be confined in his own home as a result of his conviction.

Melville, who spent more than a decade on the lobby group Homes for Scotland, was caught as a result of an intelligence-led police operation.

The 62-year-old admitted making an indecent image of a child at his Kinross home on May 9, 2015 when he appeared in the dock at Perth Sheriff Court.

Depute fiscal Tina Dickie told the court: “In 2015 intelligence was received by Police Scotland that a device connected to the accused’s address had accessed an indecent image of a child.

“As a result a search warrant was executed which led to the recovery and examination of a mobile telephone belonging to the accused. It was found to contain one Category C image.”

Melville, of Gallowhill, Kinross, had sentence deferred by Sheriff James MacDonald until next month and his details were added to the sex offenders register.

He has been granted bail with a number of special conditions relating to his use of internetenabled devices, including a ban on using search history wiping software.

Melville formerly worked in the planing departments at Tayside Region and Perth and Kinross Council, before joining the nationwide building industry collective Homes for Scotland.

In 2015, shortly after getting the illicit image on his phone, he left Homes for Scotland to join the Turley group.