A man banned from Scotland ended up being arrested because he didn’t have enough money to get out of the country.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard that the police made a routine call at a property in Moray on May 23 to check on the welfare of a woman.
Elgin Sheriff Court.
On arrival they, by chance, also found Mathew Clemson at the address.
The officers duly arrested the 43-year-old as he’d been legally forbidden from contacting the woman.
It was stated in court that Clemson had been released from Inverness Prison the day before his arrest.
In order to comply with the court order banning him from Scotland he was given 24 hours to travel south of the border by train.
However, his lawyer stated Clemson only had enough money on him to reach Edinburgh.
Defence solicitor Grant Daglish said his client decided on another course of action instead.
Clemson, after spending a night sleeping rough in Inverness, made his way to the woman’s home in Moray with the intention of picking up some personal items including his bank card.
Mr Daglish said: “He was literally only there to get his belongings and then get out of the country.”
Clemson, who lives in Balby near the south Yorkshire city of Doncaster, was admonished and dismissed.
The defendant previously spent two weeks behind bars over Christmas and New Year after defying the Scotland-wide ban in 2024.
Related article: Moray bail breach lands Yorkshireman behind bars over Christmas and New Year
View our fact sheet on court reporting here