Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Brechin backlash after Bounty Hunter’s comments stick in local throats

Christian Matlock
Christian Matlock

Bringing fugitives to justice in his drug-ravaged adopted homeland, gun-toting US bounty hunter Christian Matlock is used to being unpopular.

But his views on his home town of Brechin have been similarly unwelcome amongst its residents who have jumped to the town’s defence following a BBC documentary which was accused of showing the town in a bad light.

Christian Matlock
Christian Matlock

Matlock said the town “doesn’t have anything going for it” and “there’s no potential here for young people” during The Scottish Bounty Hunter which could return for a full series.

Mairi Evans, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, who is also a councillor for Brechin, said: “Everyone is entitled to their opinion but there are a lot of people in Brechin working really hard to make it a better place to live.

“I hear some saying there is nothing in Brechin but it is simply not true.

brechin

“There has been a significant level of investment in Brechin in the past few years with the new Community Campus and the flood prevention scheme.

“The new flood defences have brightened up the entrance to the city along River Street and the new sports facilities at the Community Campus are a real bonus.”

Former Brechin High School pupil Matlock was brought up as Christian Allday by his mother Lesley before moving to America to find his former Edzell-based American Marine father Ricky Matlock when he was 21.

After leaving Scotland, Christian worked as a bouncer in Washington DC, saving up enough money to put himself through bail enforcement school.

He has been living in Virginia Beach since 2013, tracking down fugitives and bringing them to justice as a bail bondsman.

Ms Evans said Brechin is a “beautiful place to visit or live in and there are a lot of very active people in the community playing their part to make it even better”.

She highlighted BRAVO Brechin’s role in organising events such as the annual cartie race as part of the Hallowe’en In the City event and the Harley Davidson In The City Festival in July.

“Last year saw this event combined with Brechin Music Fest, another volunteer run event attracting yet more visitors,” she said.

“These are first-class events that bring a lot of tourists into Brechin and there are obvious spin-offs for the local economy.

“There are also other groups who are doing their bit to make Brechin a great place to grow up in.”

Malcolm Finlayson, managing director of Radio North Angus, said it was an inaccurate picture to paint of “one of the loveliest towns in Angus”.

He said: “For well over a decade, I frequently passed through Brechin on my way to Stracathro, and did not see much of the city, but it always seemed pleasant to me.

“Then, on meeting my wife Joan, she showed me around what I describe as beautiful residential areas, with lovely walks and lanes.”