TRAFFIC and weather problems caused a murder trial to be postponed today (Wednesday).

A key witness – 27-year-old Kayleigh Webster – was unable to travel to the High Court in Livingston because of bad weather near her home in Crosshill, and the travel chaos caused by an overturned lorry on the Forth Road Bridge.

Miss Webster was in the middle of giving evidence about the murder of Dunfermline man Duncan Banks.

She was the first to see the Mr Banks lying in his living room with horrific head injuries after being bludgeoned to death with a blunt instrument believed to be a hammer.

Steven Thomson, 29, a prisoner at Perth, is on trial accused of murdering ‘Dunk’, as the dead man was known.

He is charged with repeatedly hitting his alleged victim on the head with a blunt object or objects to his severe injury and robbing him of money, heroin, a wallet and a key.

He is also charged with possessing the Class ‘A’ drug heroin at Duncan’s home and elsewhere in Dunfermline between 1 July and 13 October 2015.

He denies the charges and has lodged a special defence incriminating local man Jamie Curtis.

The trial before Lady Rae is due to continue tomorrow (Thursday).