A group of friends from London who scaled the Forth Bridge sparked rail chaos and a major police operation costing more than £10,000.
Tomer Brown, Ryan McLoughlin, Peter Taylor and Ricky Yuen were seen waving their arms and flashing a light from the top of the iconic railway bridge last summer.
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard previously a police helicopter was scrambled to see if they needed help.
The men, aged between 22 and 26, appeared in the dock this week for sentencing, having pled guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching the peace.
Procurator fiscal depute Azrah Yousaf told the court: “As far as Network Rail is concerned, 12 trains were delayed due to the incident – a total of 251 minutes of disruption and a total of £9,109”.
Among the other expenses was a £1,000 per hour cost for the fuel and flight of the helicopter, as well as the £100 per hour for officers to fly it.
It is understood the ballpark total cost of the incident was around £12,000.
The fiscal depute said she was unable to obtain all of the costs involved.
Following guilty pleas last month, defence lawyers representing the four men – all first offenders – called for an absolute discharge but Sheriff Francis Gill said this would not be appropriate.
He reiterated this view during his sentencing remarks and told the men their behaviour was “reckless and dangerous”.
Sheriff Gill said: “You put yourselves in danger as well as those members of the emergency services in danger.
“The cost of the emergency response was significant.”
The sheriff also highlighted staff were prevented from responding to a serious emergency elsewhere.
Sheriff Gill fined each of the men £900, to be paid within 18 months.
Spotted from car park
The court heard previously a couple in a South Queensferry car park spotted figures silhouetted at the top of the angled span of the railway bridge cantilever on the night of July 30 last year.
Ms Yousaf said the figures were seen at the top of the bridge appearing to “wave their arms in the air” and they “flashed a light”.
Police attended with railway bridge staff at around 10:30pm.
Trains were slowed to prevent any disruption and at one point, officers told the young men to stand back while a train passed.
The men admitted breaching the peace by climbing to the top of the Forth Bridge’s south cantilever and descending to track level without permission or any safety equipment.
Defence lawyers said their clients all had climbing experience and had no intention to cause such a fuss.
It was said the men had travelled to Scotland for Taylor’s birthday and the bridge climb was a “spur of the moment decision” before going to visit family in Edinburgh.
Lawyers also pointed out the route taken was largely platformed to the top of the bridge.
However, they said the men accepted in hindsight that it was a stupid decision.
The court heard they were all worried about the damage to their career prospects.
None had previous convictions and all have good career prospects, including one who works at a Michelin star restaurant (Taylor) and another who hopes to work at a space company outside of the UK (McLoughlin).
The court heard this week social workers assessed the men as being at low risk of reoffending.
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