An 85-year-old pig farmer who was last month jailed over a long-standing feud with Perth and Kinross Council has now been convicted of stalking his neighbours.
Peter Roy Snr was found guilty of engaging in a course of conduct against James and Sylvia Sutherland at their home in Madderty, near Crieff.
Perth Sheriff Court heard Roy Snr set up a camera on a tree pointed at their grounds, entered their land and stared at Mrs Sutherland as she was hanging out her washing.
He also drove a tractor over a disputed area of land and dumped a trailer by his neighbour’s gate for several days.
The five-month campaign caused Mrs Sutherland, 63, fear or alarm, the court heard.
Roy’s 56-year-old son, also Peter, pled guilty to his involvement in the course of conduct between April 1 and September 27, 2021, including shouting, swearing and kicking the Sutherlands’ door.
The pair, both of Craigmuir Farm, Madderty, will be sentenced next month.
Sheriff Gillian Wade told them: “I need to ensure that the Roys and the Sutherlands keep away from each other as much as possible”.
Bad blood
The court heard of “bad blood” between the two families over a disputed woodland near the farms.
During the trial, Roy Snr accepted some of his actions but said he did not intend to cause alarm.
He agreed he walked over his neighbours’ lawn at St David’s Farm “once in a blue moon” and said he drove his tractor back and forth over a piece of woodland to level it off.
Roy Snr described Mr and Mrs Sutherland as “play acting” when they gave evidence against him.
“If they would leave folk alone, that would be better,” he said.
Asked by Sheriff Wade if the Sutherlands might say that about him, he replied: “I’ve been on that ground before he had nappies on his backside.”
He added: “I’ve been there since the 1970s.
“I used to run pigs through it. I was in that wood before he was there.”
‘This cannot continue’
Sheriff Wade questioned whether the Roys’ conduct was criminal or just “really annoying and unneighbourly” behaviour as a result of a land dispute.
Having found Roy Snr guilty, she told the father-and-son: “I’m aware that there is a long history of conflict between yourselves and the Sutherlands.
“You both have to accept, whether you like it or not, that Mrs Sutherland was very affected by this course of conduct.
“This dispute has to be brought to an end and this behaviour cannot continue.”
Deferring sentencing until next month, the sheriff added: “This is pretty low level offending but it is causing upset.
“This is not something I’m going to send anyone to jail over but I am looking at some sort of order that will require you to keep away from the Sutherlands.”
Jail time
Roy Snr was last month sentenced to eight weeks in jail over an aging and ongoing feud with local council bosses.
He left poo-packed oil drums at the roadside in a dirty protest against Perth and Kinross Council, who he claimed should have helped him repair his “uninhabitable” home, which he was eventually forced to surrender to his pigs.
The farmer was served an abatement notice, banning him from depositing the barrels in public.
Originally sentenced to 300 hours unpaid work in 2019, Roy Snr returned to the dock and admitted he had not completed his workload.
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