The trial of a man accused of “parading naked” on a Fife beach was abandoned yesterday due to a lack of identification of him.

In the dock at Cupar Sheriff Court was Gifford Mair (50), of Forth Street, St Monans, who had denied that on August 24 this year, at Dumbarnie Links, Upper Largo, he conducted himself in a disorderly manner, paraded naked and committed a breach of the peace.

Defence solicitor Kirsten Olverman said that Mair intended to put forward a defence incriminating another person, but in the event the case did not proceed beyond the first witness.

She was Tracy Dickson, of Cardenden, who said that she had been out walking with her three dogs and had spotted someone naked. She had been with her husband, who asked her, “Do you see what I see?”

Mrs Dickson said that there had been a naked man, wearing only a baseball cap, watching the couple through binoculars.

He had then walked down to the water on three different occasions, and at the time there had been families with young children coming along the other way.

The witness said that the situation had not bothered her to start with, but when her husband saw the children coming he had gone to warn the man and had then called the police.

Her husband had spoken to the people with children, and they had stopped and walked off the other way.

Asked if she could identify the naked man, Mrs Dickson said that she could not as she had not seen his face at all and did not know the colour of his hair because he was wearing a baseball cap.

At this point the court accepted a not guilty plea and the accused was allowed to leave the dock.