A man has appeared in court after 10 police vehicles were spotted outside a Dundee flat.

Anthony Hill, 43, of Dens Road, appeared in private at Dundee Sheriff Court.

Hill made no plea or declaration in relation to one charge on petition.

He is charged with behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and uttering threats of violence, at Arklay Terrace, on Monday June 13.

The case was continued for further inquiries.

Witnesses described seeing police vehicles outside a property on Dens Road on Wednesday evening for over an hour.

A bookkeeper who embezzled £60,000 from her employer has been jailed for 18 months.

Catherine Bryceland, 50, of Wellgrove Street, transferred money from the bank account of her employer — Raymond Gloag, Painters and Decorators — into her own personal account.

And she wrote herself cheques which director Raymond Gloag had signed blank, trusting her to use them for business as the company required.

Fiscal depute Donna Brown said the embezzlement was discovered after 18 months and added: “During that period the accused transferred money into her own personal bank account.

“The amateur nature of this embezzlement was discovered upon forensic examination of documents and the accused’s bank statements.

“She made cheques payable to herself, which was easy to do given that Mr Gloag trusted her so much with the financial affairs of the company.

“He would simply sign his name to a number of blank cheques.”

Bryceland used the £60,000 to purchase cars, holidays and jewellery, amongst other things.

The court heard the company went into administration in 2011 but the fiscal said that the Crown “did not suggest Bryceland was responsible”.

The fiscal added: “However, she did abuse her position of trust within the company for her own personal gain.”

Solicitor advocate Grant Markie said: “The company ultimately went into administration but the removal of funds on her behalf did not cause that. It couldn’t have helped but it did not cause the firm’s demise.

“She had fairly restricted accounting ability and was left in control of a business with a fairly substantial turnover without proper training or qualifications.”

Bryceland admitted embezzling £60,000 from Raymond Gloag Painters and Decorators, Unit 4, Angus Works, Fairbairn Street, while employed as a bookkeeper between July 1 2007 and December 31 2008.

Sheriff Michael Fletcher said: “This was a serious offence. Extending over 18 months, you embezzled £60,000.

“You simply took advantage of a surprising degree of naivety by your employer.

“It was sophisticated enough for you to avoid suspicion on the part of your employer, but obviously didn’t fool the accountants.”

Raymond Gloag declined to comment on the sentencing.

A DUNDEE teenager has been charged with alleged attacks on his parents — which included use of a hammer.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly repeatedly hit his father on the head and body with a hammer, leaving him injured.

In addition, he allegedly repeatedly hit his mother’s head against a door to her injury.

The youth appeared in private at Dundee Sheriff Court.

He made no plea or declaration in relation to three charges on petition.

He is charged with assaulting his mother by seizing her by the hair, dragging her across a room and throwing her on to a bed.

He then allegedly repeatedly struck his mother’s head against a door, all to her injury.

The assault allegedly took place at a property in Dundee on Sunday. The teen is further charged with assaulting his father by knocking him to the ground and repeatedly punching and kicking him on the head and body.

He allegedly thereafter repeatedly struck his father on the head and body with a hammer, all to his injury.

It’s claimed he carried out the assault the following day at a different property in Dundee.

The teen is also charged with having an offensive weapon, namely a hammer, in a public place without reasonable excuse or lawful authority on Monday at a Dundee address. The case was continued for further investigation.

n In a separate case, a member of staff at a special needs school is to stand trial accused of putting a pupil in a headlock during an incident.

Audrey MacGilvray is alleged to have assaulted the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at Dundee’s Kingspark School.

The 48-year-old is accused of kicking the pupil, dragging the child across the floor and grabbing the child’s body.

She is further alleged to have attempted to pull the pupil from the floor and placed the child in a headlock.

MacGilvray, 48, of Byron Street, Dundee, denied a charge of assault to injury at the school in Glenaffric Terrace on October 27 last year.

Sheriff Derek Livingstone set a trial date in September and ordered MacGilvray to attend a pre-trial hearing in August.

A member of staff at a special needs school is to stand trial accused of putting a pupil in a headlock during an incident.

Audrey MacGilvray is alleged to have assaulted the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at Dundee’s Kingspark School.

The 48-year-old is accused of kicking the pupil, dragging the child across the floor and grabbing the child’s body.

She is further alleged to have attempted to pull the pupil from the floor and placed the child in a headlock.

MacGilvray, 48, of Byron Street, Dundee, denied a charge of assault to injury at the school in Glenaffric Terrace on October 27 last year.

Sheriff Derek Livingstone set a trial date in September and ordered MacGilvray to attend a pre-trial hearing in August.

A WAR veteran who drove at more than twice the speed limit in Dundee was told by a sheriff that “it was lucky no one had been killed”.

Alexander Gibson, 42, was caught travelling at 84mph in a 40mph zone. He said he needed to rush home to empty his artificial bladder.

Sheriff Simon Collins told Gibson his dangerous driving was “absolutely crazy” and that he was lucky not to have killed someone.

Former soldier Gibson, of Rosendael, Victoria Road, Broughty Ferry — a home for veterans — lost the use of his bladder when it was punctured by a piece of shrapnel during Army service.

Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan told the court Gibson was seen driving at excessive speed in Dundee Road West at 2.40pm on August 24 2013.

The fiscal said: “Police were carrying out checks in the area when they saw the accused’s vehicle travelling at high speed.

“He was driving at more than twice the speed limit and was seen to be overtaking a line of slower-moving vehicles.”

Once Gibson had overtaken the line of traffic, he then moved back on to the correct side of the road.

Solicitor Alexandra Short, defending, told the court Gibson has an artificial bladder and other medical problems stemming from his time spent in the Army.

Miss Short said: “He now has a fitted catheter but at the time of the offence he was using disposable ones.

“The day before the offence he had been to the pharmacy to pick up some catheters but there weren’t any, so he had to go back the following day to get some.

“He was unable to empty his artificial bladder and was in a rush to do so — that’s what led him to drive in this manner.”

Miss Short added that Gibson was not trying to excuse his behaviour but was merely trying to explain the reason for it.

Gibson admitted driving a car dangerously by driving at 84mph in a 40mph zone while overtaking a line of slower-moving vehicles, all to the danger of other road users, at Dundee Road West.

Sheriff Collins said: “His medical condition is another matter — this kind of driving is absolutely crazy.

“He’s lucky no one was killed. He shouldn’t have been driving like that, no matter the reason.”

Gibson was disqualified from driving for two years and fined £1,000.

“Evil” father Ben Butler has been jailed for life with a minimum term of at least 23 years for killing his six-year-old daughter in a fit of rage – 11 months after winning her back in a high-profile custody battle.

Butler, 36, inflicted horrific head injuries on little Ellie while left alone at home in Sutton, south-west London, to look after her and her younger sibling in October 2013.

He was found guilty of murder and child cruelty following a trial at the Old Bailey.

His partner, Jennie Gray, 36, was convicted of child cruelty, having already admitted perverting the course of justice.

The couple angrily protested their innocence when jurors returned their verdicts on the third day of deliberations.

Gray told them they had made a “big mistake”, while Butler shouted angrily that he would “fight forever” and appeal against their decision.

A THUG who ruined a wedding reception when he turned up brandishing an eight-inch knife after a row with his dad during the festivities was today jailed.

Liam McKnight flew into a rage after his father told him to calm down during the party at Chamber East, in Dundee’s Panmure Street.

McKnight’s lawyer said the row had been sparked when the teenager swore at a girl who was “chatting him up”.

The 19-year-old jumped up, shouted at his father, then stormed off out of the venue, smashing a glass panel on his way out.

He returned minutes later brandishing the weapon.

His lawyer said he then made off when he “saw the alarm in the eyes” of the stunned guests.

Fiscal depute Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court: “He had been making strange comments to women during the evening and was acting in an inappropriate manner.

“He returned a short time later with a kitchen knife, which he held above his head.

“He was annoyed at his father and was looking for him.

“The knife was approximately eight inches long and was a kitchen knife.

“He left before police arrived but was found at 4.35am and arrested.

“He was found at Ninewells Hospital, where he had been taken for treatment for a self-inflicted injury that occurred when he kicked a glass panel.

“He denied having a knife and said if he had a knife he would have used it.”

McKnight, 19, a prisoner at HMP YOI Polmont, pleaded guilty on indictment to possessing a knife on February 14.

Defence solicitor Andy Lyall said: “A female came across and engaged him in chat – he felt she was chatting him up.

“He indicated he wasn’t interested – at the time he was texting his girlfriend who was not at the wedding.

“He sat with his family and she again came and sat beside him, undeterred.”

McKnight then swore at the girl in front of his family.

Mr Lyall added: “His father was taken aback and displeased.

“There was an argument and Mr McKnight left and there was a fight outside involving him, his father and uncle.

“He then went and got this knife and came back in.

“He saw the alarm in the eyes of the others and it was brought home to him the seriousness of his actions.”

Sheriff Alastair Brown jailed McKnight for 13 months.

He said: “You went and got a big knife and came back.

“That is a very dangerous set of circumstances.

“It is precisely the set of circumstances in which people can’t be allowed to have weapons.”

A SCOUTS assistant leader and disabled kids’ swimming instructor is facing jail after he admitted downloading a stash of child sex abuse images.

Andrew Gray – a special olympics gold medallist who now teaches swimming to kids – was caught when police raided the home he shares with his parents.

They found hundreds of sick child abuse images of young boys and girls on Gray’s computer following analysis.

Gray – who won gold in the 25 metre butterfly at the 2007 games in Beijing – could face jail after he admitted the charge at Dundee Sheriff Court.

Fiscal depute Saima Rasheed told Dundee Sheriff Court: “The accused has asperger’s syndrome but is not on any medication.

“Confidential information was received indicating that indecent images of children were accused from an IP address attributed to his home address.

“A warrant was executed on September 9 last year and the accused was traced along with his parents within.

“The warrant was explained to him and the accused stated ‘Can I ask when this was as I had a problem before’.

“His parents then explained about images they had discovered on his mobile phone previously.

“A search began and officers were informed that their computer tower was at a repair company, where a hard drive and computer tower were later seized.

“A full examination was carried out and it was discovered that both contained indecent images of children.

Gray, 37, of Dunmore Gardens, Dundee, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of taking or making indecent images of children at his home between March 18 and August 29 last year.

Sheriff Alastair Brown deferred sentence until next month for social work background reports and released Gray on bail meantime.

Gray was also placed on the sex offenders register meantime.

A MAN was left needing stitches after he was attacked outside the pub where he regularly drinks.

Harry Finnegan, 20, attacked Kevin Simpson, 48, after he asked one of Finnegan’s friends to take a glass back inside the venue.

The incident outside The Saltire public house, Meadowside, was captured on CCTV.

Fiscal depute Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court Mr Simpson is a regular patron at The Saltire and assists staff by collecting glasses and sweeping the cellars.

She said Mr Simpson was drinking within the pub on the evening of Wednesday April 15 last year.

The fiscal said: “At 9.30pm a large group of young males attended at the premises, making it busier than usual.

“The pub’s licensee Mr Portsmouth was informed the premises was busy and returned to ensure everything was in order before closing-up time.

“A short time later Mr Simpson became aware of a male attempting to leave the locus carrying a glass tumbler and approached the male and advised him that he could not take the glass outside.”

Mr Portsmouth heard a commotion outside and saw Mr Simpson on the ground surrounded by several males, including Finnegan.

CCTV cameras picked up the incident at 11.56pm and police arrived shortly after.

On seeing them, Finnegan ran off towards Panmure Street but police gave chase and caught him at St Andrews Street.

Mr Simpson was taken to A&E at Ninewells Hospital and given four stitches to a thick cut under his lip, which has since scarred. He also had bruising and tenderness around his right eye.

The court heard Mr Simpson’s mental state has suffered as a result of the incident and he remains within his home a lot.

Finnegan, of Fountainbleau Drive, admitted that on April 15 last year at The Saltire, Meadowside, he assaulted Mr Simpson by repeatedly pushing him, punching him to the ground and repeatedly punching and kicking him on the head and body, to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement, on April 15 last year.

Sheriff Alastair Brown sentenced Finnegan to 18 months’ detention.

The wife of a Dundee police officer has spoken of the moment her husband tried to battle the flames coming from her car after it was allegedly set on fire.

Joanne Farr, 35, who works as a fingerprint examiner for the Scottish Police Authority, told a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen she had woken in the early hours of June 23 2014 at her home in the Ballumbie area of Dundee to use the bathroom.

The mother-of-two said she couldn’t get back to sleep, and was then a short time later disturbed by the sound of a car alarm going off in her driveway.

She said: “I looked out of the window to see the flames coming from the car. It was coming from the wheel arch and the bonnet of the car.”

Mrs Farr’s husband, David Farr, a serving officer with Police Scotland, had already run downstairs. She said: “After phoning the fire brigade I then went downstairs to find David trying to fight back the flames with our garden hose.”

Mrs Farr filled up containers with water from the sink to try to assist her husband in tackling the fire.

She said a next door neighbour had heard the car alarm going off and also helped Mr Farr, but the blaze was so significant that it was left to the fire service to eventually put the blaze out.

The court heard that Mr and Mrs Farr had a car each, and Mrs Farr would normally park hers on the left side of the driveway with her husband’s parked to the right, in front of their garage.

However, after spending time in Edinburgh two days earlier, Mrs Farr had parked her Volkswagen Golf in front of the garage where Mr Farr usually parked.

She told the court her car had looked perfectly fine the previous day, but the next time she saw it in the early hours of June 23, it was ablaze, parked on what was usually her husband’s side of the driveway.

William Handy, 53, of Middlebank Holding, Errol, denies conspiring with Craig Guest, 32, of Nelson Street, Dundee, to set fire to a car they believed belonged to Mr Farr.

Both men also deny setting fire to a car outside a property in the Ballumbie area, and later instructing phone shop staff to transfer data from one device to another to avoid detection and prosecution.

The trial continues.

A man allegedly moved house twice without complying with an order to inform police as part of his sex offender registration.

Colin Smith, 33, of Salvation Army Hostel, Ward Road, is legally required to tell police every time he moves address.

Smith is accused of moving home twice in two months and failing to inform police on both occasions.

At Dundee Sheriff Court, he denied two charges of failing to comply with the Sex Offenders Register by failing to inform police of his new address on two occasions.

The first time was allegedly between May 19 and 23, and the second time was allegedly between June 10 and 15, both at police headquarters.

He is supposed to register his new address at police headquarters within three days of moving.

Smith also denies stealing £60, a debit card and a mobile phone from a room at Dundee Survival Group, Foundry Lane, on June 9 or 10.

He further denies stealing a coin bank containing £20, a mobile phone and a charger, a debit card and three CDs from another room at the Dundee Survival Group premises on the same dates.

He also denies having diazepam, a class C drug, at Ladywell Avenue, on June 10.

His trial is set to take place on July 15, with an intermediate diet due to be held on June 28.

A man accused of conspiring to set fire to a car he believed belonged to a policeman admitted he’d torched the vehicle for money to put his son through nursery, a trial has heard.

But Craig Guest, 32, of Nelson Street, Dundee, claimed he didn’t know who the car had belonged to.

The High Court in Aberdeen, pictured, was played footage of Guest being interviewed by DS Robin Sim, of the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit (OCCTU), about the alleged fireraising on June 23 2014 in the Ballumbie area.

The court heard that when Guest was apprehended by officers at his property on July 10 2014, he said: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Guest would go onto admit to DS Sim he had read about the alleged fireraising in the Evening Telegraph.

Guest said in the same interview that on the day of the alleged fireraising, he and his girlfriend had fallen out and had gone for a long drive between 2am and 4am because they were agitated.

He said they frequently had to pull over in the Kellas Road area, near Ballumbie, because she was too upset to drive and he was too angry. However, he claimed not to know the street where PC David Farr lived.

But he then admitted in a second interview that he had set a car on fire. He said he’d been dropped off nearby by his girlfriend, adding: “I have to take it on the chin.”

When asked where he got the petrol from, Guest said: “It was out of a lawnmower. I put it in the back seat (of his girlfriend’s car).”

When asked how he lit the petrol, Guest answered: “A lighter.” The officer asked Guest where he had poured the petrol on the officer’s wife’s car, and he replied: “The dash.” The officer said: “You mean the bonnet?” Guest replied: “Yes.”

When asked what his motive was, Guest replied: “Money,” and added: “I didn’t know it was a copper’s car. I can’t afford to keep my wee boy in nursery. I would do anything to pay off debt.”

Guest claimed in his interview that his girlfriend was none the wiser about what he’d done.

William Handy, 53, of Middlebank Holding, Errol, is accused of conspiring with Guest to set fire to a car that they believed belonged to Mr Farr. Both men deny the charge, along with a further charge that they both set the car on fire.

A third charge of instructing phone shop staff to transfer data from one device to another, and buying another phone to avoid detection and prosecution is also denied by the pair.

The court was relayed footage alleging to show both men entering the O2 shop at the Overgate on June 25.

The court was told that police officers later recovered data from Guest’s old phone which showed a message sent from the device on June 21 — two days before the alleged fireraising — which stated: “The area was empty upon arrival last night.” It’s claimed a reply came back from Handy’s phone three minutes later, saying: “That is strange. Both out???”

The trial continues.

A man has been jailed after he drove off with a caravan from a carnival with all of the owners’ belongings inside.

Kenneth Williamson, 31, of Lulworth Court, hooked up the caravan to his own car at Caird Park, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.

Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan said: “The owners of the caravan are part of Codonas Carnival, which had been at Caird Park.

“They had finished holding the carnival in Dundee and were on their way to Glasgow.

“They secured the caravan at an area of Caird Park where residents of the carnival had been staying, at 2.45pm on May 16.

“At 10pm that same day, they returned and the caravan was no longer there.”

The fiscal added that the owners of the caravan lived within the vehicle, and it contained all of their belongings. The caravan and contents were valued at an estimated total of around £6,000.

Williamson was captured on CCTV towing a caravan off the site with a small blue car but was not identifiable from the footage.

He was caught for the offence only after he was seen stealing a chainsaw from Aldi on Arbroath Road four days later.

The fiscal continued: “A witness at the store saw him leaving with the chainsaw and shouted.

“Staff ran after him and he ran off to a car, dropping the chainsaw.”

Police stopped Williamson’s car and discovered other stolen items, including items from the caravan. His home was searched and the caravan was traced on Clifden Blue Court, after Williamson’s wife told police he had picked her up while towing a caravan, which he did not have earlier that morning.

Solicitor John Boyle, defending, said: “His position, not that it matters in terms of proceedings, is that the caravan was not secured with a padlock when he saw it and he took the opportunity to take it away.”

Williamson admitted stealing a caravan and contents at Caird Park, Mains Loan, on May 16.

And he admitted stealing a chainsaw, bike lock and safety boots, at Aldi, Arbroath Road, on May 20.

Sheriff Alastair Brown jailed Williamson for 17 months and disqualified him from driving for three years because he had used a car to commit the first offence.

A MAN who was caught running a £100,000 cannabis farm in his flat has been jailed for two years and eight months.

Jay Potter’s home in a quiet residential area of Forfar was raided by police after a tip-off that there was a “strong smell” of the drug coming from the property.

Drugs squad officers found 47 plants growing in the flat, in the Angus town’s Restenneth Drive, as well as a bag containing £1,500 worth of heroin.

Forfar Sheriff Court heard the haul at the jobless father-of-one’s home was worth up to £97,200 on the streets.

Fiscal depute Alan Kempton said: “Police received intelligence that drugs were being supplied from the locus, the address of accused Potter.

“Police attended and executed a search warrant, the accused was found within along with his former co-accused.

“There was a strong smell of cannabis within, and officers found 47 cannabis plants in total.

“If they all reached maturity and were harvested, the potential illicit value would have been between £32,400 and £97,200.

“This was based on a projected yield of between one and three ounces per bud, with each ounce priced at £180.

“Also during the search, a jacket was recovered hanging up, and diamorphine was found within, weighing 14.32 grams with an approximate street value of £1,430.

“The opinion of drugs unit officers was that the crop was about six to eight weeks old.

“When interviewed, accused Potter did not make any significant admissions.”

Appearing from custody Potter, 22, a prisoner at HMP Perth, pleaded guilty on indictment to producing and supplying cannabis between January 11 and March 11 this year, and supplying diamorphine on the latter date.

Not guilty pleas entered on behalf of a co-accused, Potter’s partner Koreen Farquharson, were accepted by the Crown.

Sheriff Pino di Emidio jailed Potter for a total of 32 months and described the crime as a “significant offence”.

A soldier who sent a string of rape threats to a woman via dating app Tinder today avoided a jail term.

Nathan Brown admitted sending a series of explicit, “extremely sexual” messages through the app.

Brown, who is based at the former RAF base in Leuchars, Fife, had previously spoken to the woman on Tinder.

Then, on December 9 last year, he sent her the string of messages in the early hours of the morning.

She woke up to find “serious and graphic” threats and called in police.

The court heard Brown had previously used prostitutes, with a sheriff telling him: “You appear to have used the services of women who have been paid to accept your attentions.

“I don’t know that their reactions are good guidance as to how other women will react to your conduct.”

Fiscal depute Joanne Smith told Dundee Sheriff Court: “She became uncomfortable with the content and nature of his messages, in particular on December 9 when she woke up to a number of messages sent by him.

“The messages caused her alarm.

“At 4.27am she received a message which was extremely sexual in nature and then received a further two messages of a similar nature at 7.52am and 7.59am.

“She replied at 8am which aggravated the accused and he replied with a further message of a sexual nature at 8.15am.”

An hour later Brown sent a further message apologising for his earlier comments – wishing the woman good luck over “what she is hoping to find on Tinder”.

The woman contacted police and Brown was traced and interviewed.

Brown admitted making the comments and said he had got drunk the night before.

He told officers he had anger issues which he wanted help for and described the incident as a cry for help.

Brown, 23, of RAF Leuchars, pleaded guilty on summary complaint to engaging in a course of conduct which caused a woman fear and alarm by contacting her by telephone and repeatedly sending her messages of a threatening and sexual nature, on December 9 last year, at an address in north-east Fife.

Solicitor William Boyle, defending, said: “The army take a pretty rigid approach to this.

“He has his commanding officer here today and he has told me that if he was sentenced to around 100 hours unpaid work he won’t get dismissed from the service.

“If he is at liberty they will offer him support.

“But I and they do not want to try to bargain with the court.”

Sheriff Alastair Brown imposed a community payback order with 300 hours of unpaid work and placed Brown on the sex offenders register for five years.

He said: “These offences fully justify a significant prison sentence.

“You have never been in trouble before and a direct alternative to prison is available.

“For that reason and for only that reason I move away from that.”

A man got so drunk after blowing his winnings from the Cheltenham Festival that he ended up in a rammy with police.

Andrew Penman, 26, was fined £350 at Dundee Sheriff Court after getting aggressive with officers in the city.

The court heard that Penman, of Leven, had won betting on the horse racing event in March.

He then scooped a further £750 from a gambling machine and travelled to Dundee on March 16 to celebrate with girlfriend Chantelle Brett-Hope.

Fiscal depute John Adams said: “At 6.30pm police officers were called to Brown Street in Dundee to deal with an ongoing incident.

“They found Chantelle Brett-Hope lying on the ground and the accused sat next to her holding her head.

“He had blood on his hands and officers tried to intervene to check if she was bleeding.

“Brett-Hope became aggressive and the accused joined in and started shouting at police officers.”

The court heard Penman had a bite mark on his face and, as a result, Ms Brett-Hope was taken into custody.

The fiscal continued: “The accused got annoyed saying ‘you’re not taking her’ and shouted and swore at the officers.

“He threatened to punch them if they did not let her go.

“His aggressive behaviour continued until further police reinforcements arrived and he was taken into custody as well.”

An agent acting on behalf of Penman told the court both Penman and Brett-Hope had drunk a significant amount of alcohol that evening.

She said: “She had fallen over and he tried to assist and she remonstrated.

“He had a bite mark on his face when police arrived and she was thereafter prosecuted for assault.

“She was guilty of that charge and I understand she received a financial penalty of around £100.”

The court heard Penman had previous convictions, including one from the High Court. He admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

A MAN accused of conspiring to set fire to a car he believed a police officer owned was subjected to “disruption” tactics, a court has heard.

William Handy, 53, of Middlebank Holding, Errol, denies conspiring with Craig Guest, 32, of Nelson Street, Dundee, to set fire to the car they thought belonged to PC David Farr on June 23 2014, in the Ballumbie area of Dundee.

The High Court heard Handy had been known to police and was subject of surveillance under Operation Cartogram.

PC Farr told the court police would use disruption, deterrence, detection and diversion tactics in the operation.

The jury was told of two incidents involving police and Handy in 2014.

One involved Handy being pulled over by PC Farr and DS Ross Clark, a PC at the time, amid claims he had no insurance. PC Farr told the court Handy had been left “agitated”.

His car was seized but returned the next day after he produced the relevant documents. On a separate occasion Handy was called by DS Clark to attend Downfield Police Station over CCTV footage showing someone driving a camper van Handy owned while using a mobile phone.

The court heard Handy was unable to remember who was driving and was charged, leaving him “quite irate”.

Handy was not convicted of either alleged offence, the court heard.

Mark Stewart QC, defending, said: “So there was no offer of ‘go and check your records’ or ‘do inquiry and get back to me tomorrow’ — he was just charged?”

DS Clark replied: “Yes sir.” Mr Stewart added: “Mr Handy then said to you, ‘what is this all about really?’ So he thinks you are up to something that is not on the face of it.”

Mr Stewart said Handy had questioned DS Clark on what this was “really all about” but wasn’t told.

DS Clark said: “I couldn’t tell him.”

The court then heard that the disruption tactics were also deployed on several other people, who were also left “angry and shouting” — according to Mr Stewart — when accused of minor offences.

Mr Stewart said: “The point I’m trying to get with you officer is that, in the period of this time, a large number of people were subjected to this unregulated attention by Police Scotland.”

DS Clark said: “Yes, although I wouldn’t say it’s unregulated.”

Handy and Guest also deny setting fire to a car outside a property in the Ballumbie area, and later instructing phone shop staff to transfer data from one device to another to avoid detection and prosecution.

The trial continues.

A MAN has been charged with an alleged attack on a postman on a Dundee street.

Adam Bedawi, 39, of Tullideph Road, is accused of punching Royal Mail worker Daniel Glass on the head while he was on his rounds in the Baxter Street area of the city earlier this year.

Bedawi’s case called at the city’s sheriff court and was continued without plea until July 15.

It’s alleged that he assaulted Mr Glass, who was acting in the course of his employment at the time, by punching him on the head on April 4 at Baxter Street.

In addition, Bedawi is charged with behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing, uttering offensive remarks and behaving in an aggressive manner.

It’s claimed this alleged offence happened on the same street and on the same date.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Mail wouldn’t elaborate on the circumstances of the alleged assault but confirmed that Mr Glass had since returned to work.

She said: “We can confirm that a postman in Dundee was allegedly assaulted while on his rounds in April.

“He is now back at work and has made a full recovery.

“Thankfully alleged incidents like this are exceedingly rare, but we take these allegations extremely seriously — our hardworking postmen and women serve their communities six days a week.”

Residents on the street of the alleged assault said they were “shocked” about the accusation.

Thomas Mulder, 21, who has lived in the area for a year, said: “I’m certainly shocked to hear of the alleged attack.

“I would consider this area to be pretty safe, we occasionally hear shouting in the street but that is mainly in the evening.

“Mailmen have a job to do like anyone else. We usually get our mail delivered between noon and 1pm so I’m surprised to hear of this allegedly happening during the day.”

Thomas Dorman, 25, who also lives on the street, added: “It’s certainly a very quiet area and this is the first I’ve heard of it.

“I’ve lived here for a year and I haven’t heard any allegations of trouble before.”

A Dundee man has pleaded guilty to setting fire to a car that belonged to a police officer’s wife — while it sat in the couple’s driveway.

Craig Guest, 32, of Nelson Street, admitted at the High Court in Aberdeen that he poured petrol on the vehicle and set it alight.

The incident happened in the Ballumbie area of Dundee on June 23 2014.

Two other charges against Guest — alleging that he had conspired to set fire to the car, which he believed belonged to PC David Farr, and that he had later attended at a phone shop in the city and asked staff there to remove data from the device in an effort to avoid detection and prosecution — have been dropped.

This came after his not guilty pleas to both were accepted by the Crown.

Guest, who had earlier spoken of having debts, was given bail on Monday and was due to return to the court on Wednesday.

His co-accused — William Handy, 53, of Middlebank Holding in Errol — has maintained his plea of not guilty to a charge that he also set the car on fire.

Two other charges against him of conspiring to set fire to the car and asking staff at a phone shop to remove data to avoid detection and prosecution were also dropped after he plead not guilty to both allegations.

The trial had earlier been shown CCTV footage, allegedly showing Handy walking into the O2 shop in the Overgate on June 24 2014.

Giving evidence, retail technical specialist at the O2 shop, Craig Coleman, 28, said Handy had asked that if a handset was to be reset if all the information would be cleared.

“He did ask about text messages, photographs and contacts.

“I explained to him there can be back-up storage if it is being backed up electronically.”

Mr Coleman said Handy sometimes came into the shop quite regularly but other times he wouldn’t see him for “months”.

The court was shown further CCTV footage from the shop on June 25 2014, which allegedly showed Handy and Guest walking in with coffee and heard that a new iPhone 5 was bought and Guests’s data was transferred from his old iPhone 5 onto the new one.

Handy’s data from his iPhone 4 was transferred to Guests’s old iPhone 5. Coleman said he recalled both men had contacts and pictures transferred from their old devices to new phones.

The trial continues.

A MAN accused of setting fire to a car belonging to a police officer’s wife broke down in tears at court.

William Handy, 54, of Middlebank Holding, Errol, was appearing at the High Court in Aberdeen after denying a charge of setting fire to the car on June 23 2014 in the Ballumbie area.

Craig Guest, 32, of Nelson Street, has admitted the same charge.

When prompted about any involvement with the fire by Mark Stewart QC, defending, Handy said: “I didn’t have anything to do with it,” before he began sobbing and wiped away the tears from his eyes with a tissue, adding that it had been the “worst two years of my life”.

Earlier, the court had heard that Guest became known to Handy in 2014 when he began attending the same gym as him.

Handy admitted he had told Guest of his concerns about suspected police surveillance of him. He then said that after the fireraising on June 23, he’d read in the local press about police looking for a man in connection with the incident.

It was at that moment he suspected it may have been Guest, after hearing about the issues Handy had been experiencing with the police.

Handy told the court: “I think I had some suspicions. I thought he (Guest) had maybe done it as some false loyalty or something.”

Handy recalled a conversation he thought may have taken place in the gym’s locker room where Guest indicated that two police constables — David Farr and Ross Clark — needed to “get a bit of bad luck”.

Handy said he eventually tracked down Guest, who admitted to him that he had set the car on fire.

The court had previously heard that Handy had used the website 192.com and typed in the names of David Farr and Ross Clark, two police constables, after Handy had been pulled over by them on the A90 for an alleged motor offence.

Handy admitted to the court that the names had been searched for in order to obtain the officers’ personal information and had done so to get their home addresses.

Advocate depute Lisa Gillespie prompted that Handy was “angry at the police”. Handy replied: “I was upset and frightened.”

Advocate depute Gillespie said: “You have got Craig Guest to do this for you”, to which Handy shook his head and replied “no”.