Justice comes knocking for man who failed to pay for Valentine’s stay at Perthshire hotel

A man has been ordered to pay back hundreds of pounds after leaving a luxury Perthshire hotel following a romantic Valentine’s Day break without paying.

Robert Grant took his partner Mandy Paterson to Knock Castle Hotel in Crieff in February but fled after running up a £750 bill.

At Perth Sherriff Court on Thursday he pled guilty to obtaining board and lodging to the value of £749.25 without paying or intending to pay between February 13 and 16 this year. Paterson’s not guilty plea was accepted by the Crown.

Solicitor Emma Fleming, defending, said Grant had been offered the break by a friend who was no longer able to go and believed it had been paid for in advance.

However, Sheriff Simon Collins QC dismissed the claim.

He ordered Grant, 30, of Drumbryden Gardens, Edinburgh, to pay £749.25 in compensation and fined him a further £550.

An appeal to track down the pair was shared hundreds of times after images were posted on the hotel’s Facebook page.