Man jailed after stealing from Lockerbie memorial

A man who stole charitable donations from a memorial room dedicated to the victims of the Lockerbie Air disaster has been sent to prison for nine months.

Graeme Little, from Lockerbie, had denied taking the cash last August from the donations box in the memorial room located beside Tundergarth Kirk

The 59-year-old had been caught in the act on CCTV, and has also been found guilty of intent to commit a second theft five days later.

Dumfries Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that Little was a persistent offender with previous convictions for theft.

Defence solicitor Roger Colledge said Little maintained his innocence in the matter, and had £700 in savings which could be put towards compensation.

During sentencing Sheriff Kevin McCallum KC said Little's actions were "despicable" and there was "a need for punishment and deterrence".

On the first charge of committing theft, Little was given six months in prison, and on the second of intention to steal, he was given a further three months.

Both jail terms are to be served consecutively - meaning the total sentence is nine months.

Lori Carnochan, the chairperson of Tundergarth Kirks Trust, gave evidence as a witness in the trial and said Little’s jail term was "satisfying, and a pleasant surprise".

She said: "In this day and age its quite easy for an awful lot of criminals to be given just a slap on the wrist.

"To come to court and see that Graeme Little is going to spend time behind bars. For us as a trust it's a bit of satisfaction that he's being made an example of.

"It is a despicable crime. The money that's raised in the memorial room goes towards remembering and paying tribute to those 270 victims who were killed in the Lockerbie bombing.

"It's terrible to think that anybody would go in there and steal money from something that's being put towards such a wonderful cause."

The room at Tundergarth Church honours the 270 people killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland on 21 December 1988.

The church overlooks the field where the nose cone of the plane came down.

It is one of a number of memorial sites in and around the town of Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway.

Follow the BBC for the South of Scotland on X.

Listen to news for Dumfries and Galloway on BBC Sounds.