Council employee convicted for his convictions

An Aberdeen City Council employee posted offensive comments about travellers on a social networking site.

Neil Kerr wrote on Facebook that "petrol bombs and baseball bats" should have been used to remove travellers from a park in Stonehaven.

Kerr admitted to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on the website between February 10 and 26 last year.

Mr Hammond ordered that he refrain from any "threatening, abusive or racially prejudicial behaviour" in that time, and also carry out 150 hours of community service.

The 24-year-old, a catering supervisor at the council-run Cellar Cafe, made the comment on his own Facebook page, and made others on a group entitled 'Get Travellers Out of Stonehaven' (GTOS).

Defence agent Ian Woodward-Nutt said: "He did not intend the comments to be taken seriously."

Kerr, of Tern Court, Newtonhill was not the only one posting comments as 65-year-old Susanne Elliott from Royal Deeside was also fined for branding travellers "scum" and "filth" on the social networking site.

Hannah Messer