Man threw wife out of rural Caithness home and made her homeless, Wick Sheriff Court told

Christopher Page subjected his wife to verbal and physical abuse for more than 30 months, a court heard last week.

He argued regularly with the woman and ejected her from their cottage home in rural Caithness on occasions.

Matters came to a head when he finally made her homeless. She wandered around the Scarfskerry community and was eventually taken in by a local family. She told them what she had endured and the police were contacted.

Despite being confronted with the allegations, her husband maintained he had done nothing wrong, Wick Sheriff Court was told.

However, Page, of Bronx Cottage, Scarfskerry, admitted a substantially reduced charge of having on various occasions between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021, shouted and sworn at his wife and assaulted her.

Page (53) was made subject to a structured deferred sentence under supervision.

The ill-treatment his wife suffered was described as having occurred under "a volatile and complex background". The relationship had since ended, Sheriff Ian Miller was told.

Sue Foard said that there were frequent verbal arguments during which Page would shout and swear at his wife and that behaviour gave way to physical abuse.

The fiscal continued: "Sometimes he would eject her from the house, grabbing her and pushing her outside. On other occasions, he would pull her hair. She was spotted wandering about at night."

On News Year's Eve, 2021, another argument saw her again ejected from the house for the last time.

She wandered around and was taken in by a local family. She told them what she had been going through and the police were contacted.

Miss Foard said that Page, described as living a crofting lifestyle, was arrested and during an interview denied he had done anything wrong.

"He made various claims about his wife and maintained she had left home of her own accord," the fiscal added.

Sylvia Maclennan described the couple's relationship as "complex and convoluted". The solicitor said that matters really deteriorated in 2019 when the accused started to drink to excess and there were disagreements over this.

Miss Maclennan said that instead of reaching out for assistance, Page laboured under the illusion that everything was fine at home when it wasn't.

She continued that Page had been working informally with social workers prior to his final appearance in court but had been less than candid when they interviewed him for a background report.

Sheriff Miller noted that the charge had been substantially reduced – by three-quarters. He allowed a non-harassment order previously imposed, banning the accused from having any contact with the woman, to continue.