A neighbour-from-hell lobbed bottles of urine and used loo rolls out the window of his Perth city centre flat because he was “scared” to use his toilet, a court has heard.
John Cameron built up a small mountain of human waste, papers and empty Pot Noodle cartons outside his Market Street home.
Perth Sheriff Court heard it cost around £3,000 to hire specialist cleaners to get rid of the mess, which is thought to have amassed over nearly a year.
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton, representing Cameron, 45, told the court: “He tells me that he had an issue with his toilet, which was prone to flooding.
“He was scared to use the toilet, given that he was in an upstairs flat.”
Sheriff William Wood told her: “He could have just bagged it up, though.”
He admitted two charges of breaching the peace and conducting himself in a disorderly manner on dates in November 2019 and September 2020.
People walking below
Cameron has since been evicted from the Market Street property and is living in Salvation Army accommodation in Glasgow.
Fiscal depute Andrew Harding said at 4.30pm on November 14, a witness saw Cameron throw “three white items out of his window and onto the street below.”
He said: “There were several members of the public walking along the street at the time and there was traffic on the road.”
A closer inspection found the items were soiled pieces of toilet paper.
The court had heard much of the waste thrown out by Cameron had landed on a roof and into a fenced-off construction site below his window.
It cost around £3,000 to hire specialist plant machinery to clear up the area, Mr Harding said.
The waste had been spotted by workers at the construction site, who contacted Hillcrest Housing to report the matter.
A maintenance officer attended to speak to Cameron and saw the huge mound of items when he looked out of the window.
The police were contacted and Cameron was arrested.
‘I promise I will stop’
Depute fiscal Lisa Marshall previously told the court: “A neighbour of the accused had seen him throwing toilet roll covered in faeces out his window for some time – over a year, according to them.
“She was on her balcony hanging out towels when she saw him doing the same thing again.”
Cameron told police: “I’m sorry. I promise I will stop.”
Sheriff Wood deferred sentence for further reports until December 1.
Gardyloo
In historic times, people in Edinburgh tenements would throw their grey water out the windows with the shout of “gardyloo!” to warn people passing below.
The phrase is thought to have derived from the French, “garde a l’eau!” (“watch out for the water”).
Of course, it was far more than water being lobbed into the path of people in the crowded capital.
