The Oban Times

Man, 76, on driving and bail breach charges refused bail

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A 76-YEAR- OLD man has been refused bail after being charged with three counts of careless driving and two breaches of bail conditions set on May 31 2016.

The conditions were that Thomas Allan Kirsop, a former police officer, was not to approach, contact or attempt to approach or contact two witnesses in an ongoing trial in which Kirsop is facing accusation­s of stalking.

Solicitor Hamish Melrose said Kirsop, of Brudair, North Ballachuli­sh, was intimating a guilty plea and sought bail for him on the grounds that he has medical conditions which require him to be at his home address, where his wife, a retired nurse, can monitor his health.

Procurator fiscal Martina Eastwood said that these charges suggested that Kirsop had no intention of stopping his behaviour towards the witnesses.

Mr Melrose provided three medical reports from two GPs for the sheriff to read which contained details of several medical conditions Kirsop suffers from. He told the court that the address in the Inveraray area, where Kirsop was previously residing while on bail, was no longer available to him, and that he had no alternativ­e available other than his home address.

Mr Melrose added that there were mental health concerns, for which Kirsop is to be referred for psychiatri­c tests to determine if he has early signs of dementia.

Sheriff William Taylor said that the current complaints were ‘mirror images’ of the ones before the court in the on-going trial.

He added that this showed Kirsop had ‘paid no attention to the court orders in these matters’.

The sheriff refused to grant bail on the grounds that ‘the public deserve to be protected’ from him, but added that the point raised about psychiatri­c testing should be passed on to the relevant authoritie­s so they could take it into account.

The trial for these charges has been set to take place on April 27, with an intermedia­te diet set for April 25 and Kirsop will remain in custody until these dates.

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