Wick woman tells court about being 'stalked' by ex
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A Wick woman has claimed in court that she and her partner were stalked.
Nicola Swanson said Mark Falconer was her ex and described his attention as “intimidating” and “scary”.
The 34-year-old told Wick Sheriff Court last week how she became aware of Falconer’s presence when she was travelling home to Wick on the A9 with her new partner on June 1, 2021.
Miss Swanson, who was driving, said they turned into Helmsdale to visit the toilet and observed Falconer as a passenger in a car driven by another man.
After Miss Swanson and her partner left the toilet they noticed the car parked on the other side of the road. She said both men were watching her and her partner.
She said she resumed the journey north and initially there was a line of cars behind her but the car containing Falconer and the other man overtook them and was behind her for a time.
On reaching Lybster, Miss Swanson and her partner turned into the village and waited for five or 10 minutes before resuming their trip.
After dropping her partner at his house she was driving around Wick Harbour when she spotted the other car with Falconer.
Miss Swanson told Sheriff Neil Wilson she was worried she was going to be followed home so drove in a different direction, taking random streets to avoid the accused.
Asked about any other incidents, Miss Swanson, who worked at Tesco, Wick, at the time, recalled seeing CCTV footage of her ex driving round the store’s car park, sometimes in his coal lorry and on other occasions in his car.
She had also observed him doing so while she was at work in the supermarket.
Miss Swanson, who split with Falconer in 2019 after a nine-year relationship, said: “He is banned from the store and there would be no reason for him to be in the car park. On one occasion he drove past the windows of the staff department. It was a bit intimidating.”
Miss Swanson also said Falconer often drove past her home in his coal lorry.
She said that at the time her partner and herself retained their own homes in Wick but had since moved in together.
Miss Swanson told of the accused Falconer visiting her partner’s then home in Wick and causing damage. She identified her ex in CCTV footage shown to the court.
Miss Swanson also told of a time she was visiting someone in Reiss: “As I got out of my car, Mark was passing in his coal lorry. He stopped in the middle of the road, wound down his window, and shouted at me angrily.”
Mr Barclay asked: “How did that make you feel?”
Miss Swanson replied: “Scared”.
She added that Falconer’s attentions ceased after a date for his trial was fixed.
Solicitor Alannah Comerford, for the accused, questioned how Miss Swanson could be certain about the accused’s alleged visits to her partner’s house, given the CCTV footage was “grainy”.
Miss Swanson said she was in no doubt it was the accused in the footage. She said she recognised him, noting a logo on his jacket and the trainers he wore when they were together as well as his gait.
Miss Swanson referred to times she would come back home after dropping her daughter off at school.
She said: “When he saw my car, he would stand beside his coal lorry and stare at me as I passed.”
Miss Comerford referred to the occasions when the accused had appeared with his coal lorry and said: “I would suggest that Mr Falconer was just going about his business?”.
Miss Swanson: “You can suggest that if you like but you didn’t see him.”
Falconer, of Hill Avenue, Wick denies stalking Miss Swanson and her partner between June 1, 2021 and May 1, 2022.
Falconer (38) is also accused of breaching a non-harassment order imposed at Wick Sheriff Court on March 24, 2021 and has also pleaded not guilty to that charge.
The trial continues.
