(277)  NAKED RAMBLER TRIAL

On 7 November 2003 Steven Gough, the Naked Rambler, was found guilty at Dingwall Sheriff Court of walking naked in the presence of the public in circumstances likely to produce a road safety hazard and a breach of the peace on Cromarty Bridge, Ardullie, in Ross-shire, on 3 October this year (see No 266).  The trial took place in Gough’s absence.  Initially brought into court in a red quilted cover with his hands handcuffed behind his back, he refused to co-operate with proceedings unless he could do so in the nude.  Gough was then removed from the court, and the trial continued in his absence, with a solicitor appointed by the court to represent his interests.  Sentence was deferred at the conclusion of the trial, and Gough was remanded in custody, to appear for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court later in November.