A hunter has been fined for leaving a shotgun by the side of the road after shooting wild birds at a Moray nature reserve.
Philip Brown, 63, travelled from Crawley in Sussex to Findhorn Bay to fire at geese flying over the shore.
But after packing up to head home he absent mindedly left a shotgun at Waterford Road in Forres.
Last night, locals campaigning for a ban on shooting at the bay condemned Brown’s “irresponsible behaviour”.
Fiscal Kevin Corrins told Elgin Sheriff Court: “A witness who had also been shooting geese noticed that there was a shotgun in a layby and took it to Forres police station.
“Later that day, the accused arrived there and advised police he had accidentally driven off and left the gun there.”
Brown, of Beaumont Lodge North, Ilfield Wood, Crawley, represented himself from the dock.
The retiree said he had removed the Vector semi-automatic shotgun from its slip to clean it on October 14.
He added: “I loaded the geese up, and I don’t know how it happened but I ended up driving off and leaving the gun there.
“I’d driven to Glasgow before I realised, and then returned to Moray to look for it.”
After retrieving the weapon, which Brown said was not loaded, he was charged with breaching the Firearms Act.
He admitted leaving the gun unsecured and failing to prevent unauthorised people from accessing it.
Sheriff Chris Dickson said he accepted Brown had committed “a mistake” and fined him £400.
The Friends of Findhorn Bay group has been campaigning for Moray Council to outlaw wildfowling along the shore, as members say the practice conflicts with its status as a nature reserve.
Lead campaigner Lisa Mead said the charge brought against Brown added new force to their appeal.
Mrs Mead said: “We are praying that Moray Council is not going to wait for a more serious firearms incident to happen before doing something to stop the shooting in the Findhorn Bay Nature Reserve.
“We continue to press the point that the safety and wellbeing of the public is at risk from the presence of shooters and their firearms in public places.”