Men spotted stealing sleepers from village

Two men from Glasgow have appeared in court for stealing thousands of pounds worth of timber railway sleepers from a village on the A85.

Oban Sheriff Court was told 180 sleepers valued at £8,500 had been left unsecured on hardstanding near the car park at Loch Awe railway station but in early October, a total of 166 disappeared.

The theft came to light on October 4 when a supervisor spotted two men and a white panel van reversed up against the sleepers. They appeared ‘panicked’ and got into the vehicle and sped off, procurator fiscal David Glancy told the sentencing hearing on December 2.

Around 80 sleepers were discovered missing at that point and police inquiries in the community found that a white van had been seen there on two days.

On October 7, Police Scotland officers on duty in the area saw a van fitting its description coming out of the access road to the station. The vehicle was stopped and searched and 20 sleepers were discovered.

Declan Ray Clarke, aged 29, and Kevin Kerr, aged 40, both of Drumchapel, were arrested.

The pair pleaded guilty to a charge that on various occasions between October 2 and October 7, they stole a quantity of railway sleepers.

During police interviews, Clarke was ‘candid’ and ‘very co-operative’ with officers and admitted having made four separate visits.

Kerr admitted assisting his co-accused on two occasions, the court heard.

It was suggested they had seen an advert on Facebook that the sleepers were there and available to take for free. But Mr Glancy said while the pair believed they had ‘implied permission’ it did not square with how they had reacted when they were caught ‘red-handed’ and made off in the van.

A total of 126 sleepers were recovered from a garden nursery south of Glasgow with the owner admitting he had bought them and was selling them on social media.

Mr Glancy said: ‘The recipient should have been a little more diligent in confirming the provenance of them before purchasing them and selling them on.’

Solicitor Brian Lanigan, representing Clarke and Kerr, both of 116 Glenkirk Drive, Glasgow, said of the 180 sleepers, 166 had been recovered, including those at the garden centre.

This had meant a net loss to ScotRail of £1,000 from the £8,500 total value. Mr Lanigan said Clarke had lost his job during the pandemic having always been a working man and was struggling to provide for his partner and three children.

He was not a ‘dishonest’ person and had managed to secure employment since the incident and was regularly working between 6.30am until 10pm, he said.

Kerr, a father-of-four, was on benefits and was the main carer for his partner and before the theft had not offended since a road traffic offence in 2004, said Mr Lanigan.

Sheriff Hughes said he took account of the men’s co-operation and guilty pleas.

Clarke was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation for the thefts, while Kerr was ordered to complete 140 hours of community work in recognition of his ‘limited involvement’.