A VETERAN anti-nuclear campaigner has been cleared of committing a breach of the peace by blocking a nuclear convoy as it passed through Balloch.

Brian Quail, 70, was accused of behaving in a manner likely to cause a reasonable person fear and alarm by lying down in front of the convoy on the A811, Stirling Road, on March 10 last year.

But he was cleared of the charge after JP Andrew Nicholson decided that his actions had not caused fear and alarm.

During a lengthy closing statement on Thursday, Quail, of Hyndland Avenue, Glasgow, repeatedly described the danger of nuclear bombs and claimed Trident was a breach of international law, which he declared of higher importance than Scots law. 

But in reaching his verdict, Mr Nicholson said: “I have taken advice from my legal adviser as to what constitutes a breach of the peace. 

"It must cause a reasonable person to be in a state of fear or alarm, not simply irritation. 

"My decision is based on 100 per cent on the law of the Scotland and nothing else. 

"I find you not guilty."

Quail had previously told the court: "This is not a political matter. This is a court of law and I am here to uphold the law.

"There's no dispute regarding the facts of this case. The problem we have is the refusal of the courts to take in the context of the actions taken by me.

"If the vehicle involved was in a bank robbery it would not be an offence and considered justifiable."

He added: "I remember Hiroshima as a boy. As we speak in this court room, a young man sits in front of control panel deep in the ocean ready to fire. 

"Please don't defend Trident against me. Please defend me and humanity against Trident."

Speaking outside court after the verdict, Quail said: “I did not commit a breach of the peace, and I'm relieved the JP saw that.

“I was pleased to get a chance to draw the court's attention to the illegality of Trident, which the courts in Scotland have bodyswerved.”

When the trial began on January 25, Janet Fenton, the vice-chair of Scottish CND, was called as a defence witness – but was found by Mr Nicholson to be in contempt of court after she repeatedly refused to stop speaking when he told her to do so.

But Mr Nicholson told Fenton, of Glen Allan Drive, Edinburgh, on Thursday that he would take no further action against her.