Doctor and wife fined £5,000 for 'chilling' ambush of neighbour

Published on Friday 27 November 2009 21:39

A DOCTOR and his wife have been fined £5,000 for what a sheriff described as "the most outrageous breach of the peace" he had seen in 20 years in the job.

• John and Michele McCallum arrive at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday. Picture: Jane Barlow

Dr John McCallum and his wife Michele "ambushed" their neighbour Roslyn Kinder outside their home in Edinburgh's Merchiston area after hearing that she had tried to run over their children.

The Edinburgh doctor, who earns 100,000 a year, blocked Mrs Kinder from parking her car while his wife hounded her for an explanation.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Graeme Warner watched CCTV footage of the incident, and he told the couple yesterday: "In more than 20 years of being a sheriff, I thought it was positively chilling to see on the CCTV. Had I been Mrs Kinder, I would have been scared out of my wits."

Crime writer Ian Rankin, a neighbour of the warring families, was cited as a witness, but was not called to give evidence.

Sheriff Warner convicted the McCallums, both 49, of breach of the peace charges.

They were given two weeks to pay their fines. It was said they had run up a "substantial" bill in defending themselves. They declined to comment as they left the court.

They had denied the charges and insisted they had been trying to speak to Mrs Kinder, 48, about concerns for the safety of their children.

The trial heard the families had lived next door in Napier Road, Merchiston, for about five years, and that there had been a history of trouble. Matters came to a head in September last year when the McCallums' 14-year-old son reported he and two of his sisters had had a near miss when Mrs Kinder drove out of her driveway.

Dr McCallum, reported the incident by phone to the police.

Later, Mrs Kinder arrived home in her 4x4 vehicle and began to reverse into her driveway. She told the court that she noticed Dr McCallum hanging around and he stood behind the car.

"He was staring at me fiercely. He did not move. I sounded my horn time after time. I was very scared. He looked very drunk. I saw my husband, Guy, coming out," Mrs Kinder said.

She told her husband, a film-maker, to phone the police. Then Mrs McCallum appeared.

"She came over to my car and tried to pull the door open time after time. I kept pulling it shut and managed to get it locked. I thought she was going to hit me. She looked fierce. It was like a wild animal, yet it was laughing, too," Mrs Kinder said. "She was banging on the car. She shouted, 'You tried to run over my children'. That was a lie. I knew this was just another fun day for the McCallums… there was a sense of euphoria around. They were loving this."

In his evidence, Dr McCallum branded as "preposterous" the claim that he had been drunk. He said he had still been on call at the time and would never have taken alcohol when he might have had to drive and attend a patient.

He told the court he had tried to have a word with Mrs Kinder, and alleged that she reversed the vehicle and struck him on the leg.

Mrs McCallum said: "Mrs Kinder came out of her vehicle. She came right up to me, waving her arms and shouting and swearing at me that my family was out of control. She went round the side of her car and the reversing lights came on. I slapped the back of the car… it was a warning really."

She added she had tried to open Mrs Kinder's door because it was "a ridiculous situation" and she needed to speak to her. "I did not raise my voice once. I was not acting aggressively," Mrs McCallum said.