A SCOTTISH prankster has been charged with a breach of the peace – after putting a skeleton of Gareth Southgate in a waistcoat on his roof.
Kenneth Whyte, 57, says he was stunned when eight police officers arrived to remove the England football manager effigy from his home in Carnoustie, Angus.
Officers returned the next day, on Tuesday, to formally charge him with a breach of the peace offence.
“I put it up on Saturday as a joke. If what I have done is a criminal matter then people should be really worried,” said Mr Whyte.
He dressed a model skeleton in a shirt, tie, and a waistcoat that became the trademark of the England manager as he took the national team to this year’s World Cup semi-final.
The figure was placed on the roof of Mr Whyte’s home, alongside signs directed at “our English friends” that read: “Please remember the route, for when you are coming home again.”
He said officers visited his home on Sunday after receiving a complaint and then returned on Monday to take the skeleton away.
Gareth Southgate
Retired Mr Whyte insists the stunt was simply a prank that had got “out of hand”.
“A couple of officers came by on Sunday to talk to me about it, but I kept it up and then on Sunday evening about eight officers came to the house and took it away.
“This wouldn’t have happened if the Open wasn’t taking place now. There will be thousands more people coming down the road and I thought the sign would be a memorable way for people to remember their way back and not get lost.
“I’m old enough to have been around when England won in 1966 and we’ve never heard the end of it since then. It’s just meant as a bit of banter between England and Scotland.
“The police told me they were taking the skeleton away for evidence, but haven’t told me when they’ll return it. I want my skeleton back.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “We can confirm a 57-year-old man from the Carnoustie area has been charged and reported to the procurator fiscal in relation to an alleged breach of the peace incident following complaints from members of the public.”
Inspector Alice Coventry said: “Following complaints from members of the public relating to a display in Carnoustie that caused offence, officers removed it on July 16 and a man has now been charged.”
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