Racist messages to Highland Airbnb owner end with fine

A neighbour was so angry with the noise coming from short-term let guests and their dogs next door that he sent abusive and racist messages to the Asian owner.

But his abusive behaviour cost 56-year-old Kevin Coghill, of Auchterawe Road, Fort Augustus a £1040 fine at Inverness Sheriff Court after he admitted a course of abusive behaviour, which the law deems as stalking. Sentence had been deferred for a background report.

Sheriff Gary Aitken heard that initially relations were good between the two men and email addresses were exchanged. But fiscal depute Adele Gray said they quickly deteriorated with the owner telling him he didn’t want any communication from Coghill.

“On June 12, 2022 he received two emails complaining about yapping dogs and the guests,” Ms Gray said, after reading out some of the abuse directed at the owner and his guests.

Ms Gray then recounted a second incident on August 20, 2022 when Coghill sent more emails containing similar abuse and racist remarks.

Defence agent Duncan Henderson said: “He accepts he was entirely wrong and the remorse expressed in the report I would submit is genuine.

“He is entitled to have a dispute with his neighbour but not entitled to behave in the way that he did.”

Sheriff Aitken told Coghill: “If you want to have a quiet neighbouring property then you should go out and buy it yourself.

“Your neighbour is entitled to operate an Airbnb and if there are yapping dogs then there are other ways of dealing with that other than resorting to repeated and sustained abuse.

“Referring to someone’s cultural origin in this way is completely unacceptable in society today.”