Warrant issued for arrest of scallops dredger master

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a scallops dredger master, from whose boat a member of crew was lost overboard.

Alexander Baird, of Kirkcudbright, was due at Holyhead Magistrates' Court, but did not appear.

He was charged with failing to ensure the boat St Amant operated safely between November 2007 and April 2012.

In January 2012, Steven Robertson, 25, of Dalbeattie, was lost overboard after the vessel left Holyhead, Anglesey.

Despite lifeboats and an Irish ferry combing the waters, Mr Robertson was not saved.

Mr Baird faces a safety prosecution brought under the Merchant Shipping Act.