East Lothian couple may have to sell £500K home after ‘stalking neighbours’

A disabled author and his wife convicted of stalking their neighbours at a plush Scots estate have been warned they may have to sell their GBP500,000 home as part of their sentencing. David, 55, and Jacqueline Aston, 58, were found guilty last week of causing neighbours fear and alarm by constantly recording their movements and making false reports about them to the police and local council. Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Mrs Aston also attempted to wreck the career of one neighbour by making a malicious complaint to the General Teaching Council for Scotland claiming she was neglecting her children and using drugs.

In a scathing speech lasting around 60 minutes Sheriff John Cook described the couple's behaviour towards their neighbours over three years as "intimidating" and "utterly appalling". The sheriff said the evidence against the couple was "both extraordinary and overwhelming" and told them he "entirely rejects" their version of events. Following the guilty verdicts prosecutor Clare Green said the Crown were moving for non-harassment orders that would ban the Astons from having any contact with their neighbours at the estate in North Berwick, East Lothian.

Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox[3] Ms Green added: "The Crown seek the conditions they do not contact or approach, or attempt to contact or approach, any of the main complainers. "Consideration is also being given to the Crown seeking a non-harassment order not to enter the street given the extent of the stalking."

Solicitor Mark Harrower, representing David Aston, said imposing such an order would be "a drastic step" and would mean "they [the Astons] would have to move". Sheriff Cook said: "I realise I require to be proportionate but I have to give very careful consideration if that is proportionate in this case. "It is an extensive course of conduct and it may well be entirely proportionate so maybe your clients should consider their future there."

Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages[4] Sheriff Cook said he would decide on the conditions of any non-harassment order to be imposed to the sentencing hearing next month. The sheriff told the Astons: "You have both been convicted of very serious offences and I require to decide whether custodial sentences are appropriate in the circumstances.

"Mrs Aston, the number of complaints against you mean that there is a potential for five years imprisonment but that may not be proportionate. "But you require to really understand I have convicted you of serious offences and I have to seriously consider whether you will be sentenced to a period of imprisonment. "Mr Aston, you're participation was less but I also have to consider whether any sentence other than a custodial sentence is appropriate."

Sheriff Cook also said he would be considering imposing financial orders to compensate the neighbours who had paid for legal representation in "vexatious" court cases brought by the Astons. The 21 day trial heard from several neighbours who said their lives had been turned into "a living hell" by the Astons. The court heard David Aston had written a book called A Stroke of Fortune that featured a character who develops magical powers following a stroke and uses them to wreak revenge on the local community.

Aston, a former chartered accountant, penned the novel after suffering serious injuries including brain trauma and a massive stroke following a motorway car crash 10 years ago. Neighbour Stuart McMorris, 46, told the court he was left "astonished" when he discovered the novel in April 2020. He said: "I'm shaking at the moment just thinking about this.

We were almost living what we were reading here." Partner Catriona Henderson, 45, said Jacqueline Aston had sent emails to the GTCS claiming she was neglecting her children and was using the drugs crystal meth and laughing gas. The malicious complaints were immediately dismissed by the GTCS and no investigation was ever conducted.

Robert Bain, 64 told the court the "constant monitoring" by his neighbours had affected the health of him and wife Marie, 67, and the move to his dream retirement home had "turned to a nightmare." David and Jacqueline Aston were found guilty of causing three sets of neighbours fear and alarm by between between October 2018 and October 2021. Jacqueline Aston was also found guilty of assaulting Marie Bain by striking her with a bin and to breaching bail conditions on three occasions.

Sentence was deferred for social work reports to next month.

References

1. ^ Edinburgh duo 'hurl abuse' at Scotmid staff as they 'shoplift in plain sight' (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
2. ^ Tributes paid for Edinburgh 'character' who could 'light up any room' (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
3. ^ Edinburgh Live newsletters (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
4. ^ Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here (chat.whatsapp.com)