Prosecutor who took on campaigners over Skye Bridge tolls suffered nervous breakdown

David Hingston, the Dingwall procurator fiscal, also says that the pursuit of the campaigners entailed a “very serious crime”.

On the BBC documentary The Battle of Skye Bridge, Mr Hingston says that “somebody, somewhere has perverted the course of justice” as a result of attempts to “paper over” the lack of evidence justifying the tolls.

After centuries of boats sailing over the sea to Skye, in 1995 a new bridge was built between the island and the mainland. Increased vehicle traffic had been causing frustratingly long queues for both tourists and islanders as they waited for berths on the ferries.

The completion of the iconic bridge was seen by many as the route to economic prosperity for Skye. However, the impressive work of civil engineering did not receive a universal welcome as it became clear that this was to be the most expensive toll bridge in Europe.

Locals launched a campaign that resulted in years of dissent, headlines and legal tussles. Now The Battle of Skye Bridge tells the story of the islanders’ protests against the hated tolls, their struggles with the law, and after nearly a decade of campaigning – their final, euphoric victory.

Campaigners were absolutely sure a legal document used in the case had been fabricated but the 130 convictions that arose from the saga were never overturned.

Mr Hingston said: “It was a very important document. If it didn’t exist then the prosecutions are wrong. The ultimate document presented to the court came from the Scottish Office. It looked genuine, full stop. I had no reason to doubt it.

“This document was produced to try to paper over this very large hole in the process. If it is accurate, somebody somewhere has perverted the course of justice.

“It was extremely stressful. In the end, all these prosecutions were in my name. The pressure was really ramped up extremely high. I had a nervous breakdown through stress.

“As a fiscal I had to do what I did, but as a human being and a citizen I thought they were a scam. It should never have happened. It was outrageous.

“One of the main problems with the Skye Bridge is that it is surrounded in secrecy. Everything is apparently financially confidential. It is ludicrous, frankly.”

The documentary will be broadcast tomorrow on BBC Scotland, 10.00 – 11.00 pm.