Hearse used in feud

A HEARSE with two empty coffins inside was left in an Edinburgh street as part of a long-running feud between two families.

Police are investigating the incident which saw the vehicle dumped outside an address in Hutchison Place, Slateford, with two sets of funeral bouquets bearing the names of those who lived there.

The vehicle, which belongs to Paul Kernachan, 42, the partner of paedophile ring victim Dana Fowley, was taken away by police but is now back, parked just a few streets away.

Mr Kernachan said he had completed a 1900-mile round trip to Wales to buy the hearse and two coffins, paying a total of £1500.

He then parked the car outside a neighbour's home, but today insisted the act had not been a threat.

He said: "Maybe they (the other family) will think it is a threat and I will not lose any sleep over that, but if anyone else is upset, then I do apologise.

"I'm not trying to disrespect people's final journey.

"The police uplifted it and told me it had been taken away for forensics, but I have no intention of taking it away. It's parked legally on the road and it's a good car to go to the shops with."

A police spokesman said: "Police investigated following a number of reports from the public that a hearse containing a coffin was left insecure in the Hutchison Place area of the city on 28 May.

"The vehicle was removed and police can confirm that the coffin did not contain a body.

"The vehicle has since been returned to the keeper while enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances.

"If the vehicle is again found to be causing any sort of obstruction or offence, it will be removed and further investigation will be carried out."

In December a BMW car belonging to Ms Fowley was vandalised with the word "grass."

The attack was the latest in a series of threats against the paedophile victim, who was raped and abused along with her sister over a period of 12 years by family members and their friends.

Her home was also attacked by a gang of men wielding swords and hammers in December 2007 in an incident which was caught on CCTV cameras installed to protect her safety.