Drunken pensioner’s naked hotel rampage with a pair of scissors
THERE are certain things one does not expect to come across at a smart lochside hotel in the Scottish Highlands, and two pensioners on the rampage with a pair of scissors is one of them.
After his wife complained that staff had been hostile to her, Robert Fergus, 72, ran naked through the Macdonald Loch Rannoch Hotel, in Perthshire, while drunk and “out of control”.
Staff and guests fled in the early hours as Mr Fergus smashed a glass pane and used the scissors to cut communications cables, before threatening to “slit” and “kill” witnesses.
His wife, Ruth, 69, also threatened to “get a gun and shoot” a staff member after “reacting badly” to alcohol she had drunk without having eaten much food, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Mr Fergus appeared in the hotel reception without any clothes and began shouting abuse at staff and guests during the incident, on Feb 4, the court was told.
Michael Sweeney, the fiscal depute, said: “Both accused were acting as if they were out of control. He was observed to have a pair of scissors. Mrs Fergus said: ‘I’m going to get a gun and shoot you’.”
The couple returned to their room to pack before driving off towards Perth.
Perth Sheriff Court heard they flagged down a passing police car and accused staff of attacking them.
Mr Fergus gave a positive breath test but told officers: “I had no intention of driving but I was forced to. Our lives were in danger from hotel staff.” He
‘I don’t think I need to tell you it’s a very sorry state of affairs. I have no doubt you will regret it for the rest of your life’
was arrested after officers viewed the hotel’s CCTV footage.
Mr Fergus admitted driving his £65,000 BMW on the B864 Kinloch Rannoch to Tummel Bridge road while over the legal alcohol limit. The retired chartered surveyor had previously been of good character.
Ewan Cameron, representing Mr Fergus, admitted his client had reacted “disproportionately” when confronting hotel staff after being woken by his wife, who claimed to have been on the receiving end of “hostility” from them.
Mr Fergus, from Troon, South Ayrshire, admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner towards staff, wilfully destroying property and drinkdriving. Mrs Fergus admitted causing fear or alarm at the hotel by threatening guests and staff with violence.
The couple were fined £4,100 and Mr Fergus was also ordered to pay the hotel £800 compensation to cover the cost of the damage.
Sheriff Gillian Wade told Mr Fergus: “I don’t think I need to tell you it’s a very sorry state of affairs. I have no doubt you will regret it for the rest of your life.”