Garage boss cleared of metal theft

A GARAGE boss has been cleared of stealing metal destined for a spectator stand at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

A jury at Livingston Sheriff Court took three hours yesterday to return a majority 
verdict, finding the charge against 39-year-old Colin Jackson not proven.

Jackson, of Barrmill, Ayrshire, had denied any involvement in the theft of the steel after a break-in at a construction yard in Livingston, West Lothian, in May 2011.

Traffic police filmed two trailers, loaded with massive steel girders and panels specially fabricated for Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, on the M8 just ten minutes after they were stolen.

Half of the stolen metal – which was worth £100,000 in total – was later found by police buried on land owned by Jackson.