Prized pigs roamed free and approached residents, court told

Kevin Martin is said to have been the owner of the pigs who approached residents of the historic Whittingehame House.

Martin, of Willow Rise, Whittingehame Estate, appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Thursday where he denied the allegations against him.

Martin is representing himself after informing the court on numerous occasions that he could not get a solicitor to represent him due to one of the witnesses in the case being a well-known solicitor himself.

But a succession of sheriffs have informed Martin during previous court hearings that they do not believe that to be the case, and last week Sheriff Donald Corke told Martin the trial was going ahead with or without him having legal representation.

The court only heard from one witness, Whittingehame resident James Aitken, who told the court he had seen the pigs roam on the estate grounds on “numerous occasions”.

The court was told the pigs were being held in an adjacent field but that the gate was left open on occasions and that there were issues with a surrounding fence. Mr Aitken, 54, said the estate’s grounds were left looking like a “ploughed field” after Martin’s pigs had allegedly broken out of their compound.

Martin denies culpably and recklessly allowing his pigs to freely roam the grounds and approach persons, run at the lieges to their potential injury, and cause them fear or alarm and he did this with utter disregard for the consequences at Whittingehame Estate between February 15 and 21, 2014.

The trial continues next month.