A PENSIONER is to stand trial in the new year, accused of hitting a baby bird with a golf umbrella so hard that the injured chick had to be put down.
William McMahon, 67, is said to have fractured the leg of the young avian, a herring gull chick, by striking it on its body with the golf umbrella.
It is alleged that the chick then had to be destroyed.
The incident is said to have occurred on July 8 in Kennedy Crescent, Kirkcaldy.
At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court yesterday, McMahon, who lives in Kennedy Crescent, pled not guilty to intentionally or recklessly injuring the wild bird, whereby it had to be euthanised, contrary to the Wildlife and the Countryside Act.
Prosecutor Katrine Craig said the alleged incident had been reported to the Scottish SPCA.
She said: "There are six civilian witnesses, two are children. One of the witnesses involved is a vet."
Sheriff Ian Anderson continued the case for trial on April 17, 2014, with a pre-trial hearing on April 4.
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