A funeral director who carried out a ten year campaign of abuse against his neighbours has been branded as “despicable” by a sheriff.
William Main harassed neighbours Derek and Linda Thomson by setting off fireworks, shining a torch into their home and firing an air rifle towards their garden in Dunbar, East Lothian.
Main, 63, also made false reports to the police and the local authority about his neighbours and deliberately used power tools at his home knowing the couple were working nightshift.
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And when the Thomson family were eventually forced to move away Main began harassing new residents Jone Matteucci and Rebecca Weightman by lighting fires and following them in his car.
Main, who owns a local funeral business, also reported the new neighbours to the council and on occasions acted aggressively towards them over a three year period.
Main denied the abusive conduct against his neighbours but was found guilty last week following a three day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Roderick Flinn said: “I find you guilty on both charges. I found all four Crown witnesses credible and reliable.
“Each was in my view telling the truth without embellishment and each was unshaken in cross examination. I did not find you to be credible or reliable.
“I have no difficulty, considering the evidence as a whole, in finding these were deliberate acts intended to cause your neighbours fear and alarm.
“The evidence as a whole demonstrates you set out to make the lives of your neighbours as unpleasant, worrying and sometimes frightening as possible.
“Your behaviour was despicable.”
Sentence was deferred to February next year for reports.
Former neighbour Linda Thomson, 58, told the court she and her husband Derek were forced to move home after Main had harassed them for nearly seven years.
Mrs Thomson said the funeral director would regularly shine a torch into their home while out walking his dog late at night and stare at her and her husband “every time we went out”.
She said Main would “continually shoot guns” across her garden “on a weekly basis” though she and her husband admitted they had never seen the firearm.
Main also used power tools on purpose through the day within his home knowing Mrs Thomson was working nightshift and the day before the couple moved away Main had organised “a major fireworks display” in his garden.
Mrs Thomson said when they complained to Main about his behaviour he had reported them to the local council over bogus noise complaints.
Husband Derek Thomson, 63, told the court he was harassed by Main on “a daily basis” when he would return home from work on his bicycle.
Mr Thomson said he was forced to charge his route home on four occasions in a bid to stop Main from harassing him.
He said: “The intent was to make me nervous and unfortunately it worked. He was always there, always watching me.”
Mr Thomson added it “proved impossible” to avoid meeting Main and the situation was proving “very stressful”.
The Thomsons both said they were forced to move from their “beautiful” home in 2017 following the seven years of harassment from their neighbour.
Main was found guilty of engaging in a course of conduct which caused Derek and Linda Thomson fear and alarm between December 13, 2010 and July 14, 2017.
He was also found guilty of engaging in a course of conduct which caused Jone Mateucci and Rebecca Weightman fear and alarm between July 14, 2017 and March 31, 2020.
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