A TRIAL was called off at the last minute in Dunfermline because the accused and his translator would have been too close together in the dock, breaching Covid restrictions.

This was despite 53-year-old Dan Muresan having had to travel to Fife from his home in England.

There were also a number of witnesses waiting at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to give evidence.

A sheriff lamented the lack of headphone facilities in Scottish courts, pointing out they have been around since back in the 1940s for the Nuremburg war crimes trials.

The allegation of driving under the influence of alcohol and crashing on the M90 near Dunfermline goes back almost three years.

It is alleged that Muresan, who formerly lived in Glasgow, on June 2, 2018 on the motorway culpably and recklessly drove a car whilst under the influence of alcohol, lost control of the vehicle, causing it to swerve on to its side and come to rest in the path of oncoming traffic, to the danger of others.

Just before the trial was about to start and with Muresan and the translator both waiting in the corridor outside the courtroom, Sheriff Charles Macnair raised his concerns that a Covid-compliant trial could not take place.

A lack of headphones means that the way the evidence is translated is by the interpreter whispering in the ear of the accused.

Defence solicitor Gordon Martin said his client, having travelled from England, wanted the trial to go ahead. He observed that people were also now allowed to go for hair-cuts which involved close contact.

However, Sheriff Macnair said he could not see how the trial could go ahead and meet the requirement of people staying two metres apart.

The sheriff commented: “You may think there could be a technical solution to a situation such as this by using headphones. They had them at Nuremburg after all.”

The trial was postponed and a new date set for September 13.