Pensioner shot gun in Melrose public park

A pensioner who recklessly discharged a shotgun over a public park in Melrose has been fined £1,200 and ordered to pay a £75 victim surcharge at Selkirk Sheriff Court.

Seventy-one-year-old Edward Hopkins, from Edinburgh, admitted the offence, which took place on February 4, shortly before his case was due to go to trial.

Alasdair Fay, prosecuting, said a couple who were walking along a nearby footpath were left "alarmed" by the incident, having reported hearing "a loud pop" and spotting a crow in distress.

Hopkins was seen in the grounds of a property he owns in the neighbouring Abbey Mill Park, but initially denied the offence.

At the time it was thought he was carrying an air rifle, but it later turned out to be a 12-gauge shot gun.

Sheriff Janys Scott warned Hopkins discharging a firearm from a domestic property, across a playing field, was "a very serious matter".

But defence lawyer Ross Dow, said the first offender had no intention of using a gun again and has since returned his firearms licence.

Mr Dow added: "He did not think anyone was there."

A plea of not guilty to a charge of failing to store the shotgun securely was accepted by the Crown.