DUNBLANE FEAR OVER TOP SHOT; Marksman is banned from keeping guns over doc's safety doubt.
Byline: BRIAN McCARTNEYA MARKSMAN on the verge of Scotland honours has lost an appeal to keep his guns after being compared with Thomas Hamilton.
A doctor said that loner Charles Ingram, 57, who he considered to be a danger to the public, could explode like the Dunblane school killer.
Six years ago this week, Hamilton shot dead 16 children and their teacher at Dunblane primary school.
And yesterday a sheriff said that bachelor Ingram - who lives with his 84-year-old mother less than 100 yards from Blair Atholl primary school in Perthshire - was "socially isolated, unreasonable, aggressive and volatile in character".
Now furious Ingram is set to take the matter further - saying he is "far from happy" at being compared to Hamilton.
He rapped: "I am determined not to lose out on a sport I love."
But last night neighbours were delighted at the news.
One said: "There was genuine concern that he might be allowed to keep his guns.
"It's a great relief to all of us that he's not getting them back."
Another woman who lives nearby said: "It's a tremendous relief that he is no longer able to keep his guns in the house."
Ingram's weapons were confiscated as he was set to be picked for Scotland's international clay pigeon shooting team.
The second-hand car dealer spent thousands of pounds in legal fees mounting a court bid to have his shotgun permit restored.
But in written findings after the appeal, Sheriff Derrick McIntyre ruled that worried Tayside Police were perfectly right to cancel his licence.
And the sheriff highlighted the evidence of Pitlochry GP Dr Graeme McCrory who was a witness at the appeal.
Dr McCrory, 33, told the court that he was fearful because Ingram lived so close to the school.
Sheriff McIntyre said: "Dr McCrory even went so far as comparing Mr Ingram to Thomas Hamilton, the perpetrator of the Dunblane incident."
Sheriff McIntyre also emphasised the "bizarre and violent behaviour" of Ingram.
He wrote: "Two police officers do not consider him to be a fit person to possess a shotgun and I can well understand why."
The Sheriff noted that Ingram had held a gun licence for nearly 20 years despite several run-ins with the law.
In 1975, he was banned from getting behind the wheel for three years after his dangerous driving left a female passenger dead.
In 1997 he was fined pounds 500 for making nuisance calls to an ex-girlfriend and threatening to kill her.
And ten years ago he was given a warning after attacking several members of the cast and crew of the BBC drama Strathblair.
During filming in the picturesque village where Ingram lives, he drove through the middle of the set and threw a spanner at a female producer.
On another occasion he made bizarre allegations that police officers were dressing up as joiners to spy on him.
The court also heard during Ingram's appeal he had a drink problem and suffered depression while he held his licence.
Appealing
Outside court he said police mounted a vendetta against him, adding: "I will be appealing this decision."
But a Tayside Police spokesman said: "The sheriff has issued his judgment and we believe it speaks for itself."
Ingram is a member of Kippen Gun Club and has been shooting and winning major competitions since he was a teenager.
Gun club secretary Trevor Jeffrey said: "Whenever he shoots he is a man who is very safety conscious and polite.
"I don't mean polite in the way he speaks but in the manner he conducts himself at the shooting range.
"He is an excellent shot and, without question, he is capable of making the international team."
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| Publication: | Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) |
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| Date: | Mar 15, 2002 |
| Words: | 614 |
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