Farmer blocked road after ongoing problem with boy racers at Castletown
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Noisy boy racers regularly using a country road were driving farmer Graeme Younger around the bend.
He had reached "the end of his tether" when he discovered one of them was approaching and decided to do something about it.
Younger (55) got into his vehicle and drove it onto the single-track road to block it, Wick Sheriff Court heard, with the intention of having words with the driver.
Younger admitted having behaved in a threatening or abusive manner on April 7 and blocking the Durran Mains road near his farm, with his vehicle preventing other road users from using it.
David Barclay said that the driver was forced to stop and Younger shouted and swore at him and demanded that he wind down his window so he could speak to him.
The fiscal said that the driver "was not inclined to engage" with Younger and he and his passengers got around the "blockage" via the verge and drove off.
They reported the incident to the police.
Mr Barclay stressed that he was not suggesting that the young driver involved in this incident was the only boy racer using the road.
When spoken to by police, Younger, of The Bungalow, Hoy Farm, Castletown, explained the background to his problem and said that despite having reported the matter to police, the situation had not improved.
Solicitor Fiona MacDonald said that Younger simply wanted to speak to the young man, but accepted that he should not have gone about it the way he did.
The observation was echoed by Sheriff Neil Wilson, who said that the accused should not have "taken the law into his own hands".
The case was continued for six months to give Younger a chance to demonstrate he could behave.
