Historic Black Isle market cross knocked down during late night revelry
Residents in a Black Isle town are angry after the historic market cross was damaged.
Police were alerted to the incident that left the stone structure lying in bits on the pavement in Fortrose.
According to local reports the cross was toppled during a late night prank when revellers were trying crown it with a traffic cone reminiscent if the cones that appear on statues of Donald Dewar and Duke of Wellington in Glasgow.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a statue knocked down in the Academy Street area of Fortrose around 12am on Wednesday, 15 May, 2024.
“No criminality has been established at this time.”
The incident sparked comment on social media with one man posting: “The stone in Fortrose High Street was knocked down around midnight by three very drunk people . They weren’t in the slightest bit bothered and thought it was hilarious.”
The cross, believed to date back to Middle Ages, has had a chequered career having first been “knocked over” in 1830.
It originally had a top section, but this section is no longer attached but embedded in the pavement nearby after being damaged in earlier times.
Local Highland Council member Lyndsey Johnston said: “It is absolutely disgraceful. It seems a bizarre thing to have done.
“I would hope that those responsible are going to put their hands up to what they have done. I am sure they will feel differently about things in the cold light of day.”
As the cross appears to have largely survived over the years despite damage, there is hope locally that it can be replaced.
