Sheriff describes retired police officer’s behaviour ‘shocking’

A FORT WILLIAM Sheriff has described a 76-year- old retired police officer’s behaviour as ‘ shocking’ as he delivered part of his sentence on Monday.

Thomas Allan Kirsop, of Brudair, North Ballachulish, was fined £1,000 for two breaches of bail and careless driving at Fort William Sheriff Court.

He was fined £250 and disqualified from driving for three months for careless driving for an incident on March 23, 2017.

Kirsop was found guilty of driving slowly in front of his victim, about 15mph to 20mph, positioning half of his vehicle in the opposing carriageway, preventing the victim from overtaking on the A82 at North Ballachulish. The court heard how Kirsop had then turned into the filling station ‘at the last possibly opportunity without indicating’.

Kirsop was also fined a total of £750 for two breaches of bail; £ 500 for one and £250 for another.

At an earlier court appearance, Sheriff William Taylor found Kirsop guilty of six charges, including swinging a chainsaw with its engine running while staring at neighbours, uttering threats and shouting offensive remarks; staring at the head teacher of the village primary school in an intimidating manner; engaging in conduct which caused a husband and wife fear and alarm by following the wife’s car, pulling alongside; banging into her at the village primary school; sending an anonymous letter containing a newspaper clipping and placing signs with an offensive slogan on a boundary fence.

The offences took place between January 1, 2015, and May 29, 2016, and were said to have followed a falling out within an extended family circle.

Sheriff Taylor deferred sentence on these charges until September 1, 2017, to get a restriction of liberty order assessment.