A Waternish man from the North end of Skye has been charged with refusing to pay the toll on the Skye Bridge - even thought he does not know how to drive, does not own a car, and has not seen the Bridge since it opened last October!
Bob Davie received a recorded delivery letter last Saturday and found himself with a summons to Dingwall Sherrif Court for refusing to pay the £5.20 toll "without reasonable excuse". Mr. Davie's employers, Marine Harvest, confirmed that on the day in question, he was at work at the time. It was even more surprising as he has never possessed a driving license - he last had driving lessons back in 1969, but decided he was not keen on driving and did not continue.
He said "I assume that someone else gave the police my name and address. If they did, I could be standing in the docks next to Margaret Thatcher, John Wayne and Saddam Hussein and any other fictitious characters that are being put forward for not paying the tolls."
A spokeswoman for the Fiscal's office in Dingwall said it was very strange that this had occurred, and she would contact the police officers involved. Myrna Scott-Moncrieff of anti-toll pressure group SKAT said "This must be the result of self-imposed work on the Fiscal and his office."
Also this week, the appeal of Andy Anderson, the first protestor to be prosecuted for non-payment of the Toll, was announced to be taking place on 9th October at the High Court in Edinburgh. The solicitor acting for the campaign group said that he did not believe that the judges would make an immediate pronouncement but they might decide to give written judgement a week or two later.
Copyright © Ray Shields, 1996.
Most recent revision, 19 September 1996.