Man accused of Stone of Destiny attack has left country, court told

An Australian tourist accused of smashing the Stone of Destiny exhibit with a hammer is believed to have left the country, a court was told.

Arnaud Hercules Harixcalde Logan was due to appear at Perth Sheriff Court to face a charge of maliciously damaging the historic artefact's casing last July.

Logan, 35, from Sydney, was previously freed on bail on the condition that he hand his passport in to the police.

He was also ordered to sign on regularly with police - but the court was told that Logan had disappeared without contacting police or handing in the document.

The incident led to an evacuation of part of Perth Museum and access to the Stone of Destiny was prohibited for several months while repairs were completed.

The Stone itself did not sustain any damage.

The court was told that Logan was no longer believed to be in the United Kingdom.

The Crown asked for a warrant to be issued for Logan's arrest, but that was refused by Sheriff Alison McKay because of an administrative mistake by police officers.

Logan initially appeared in court wearing part of the traditional Jacobite costume he was sporting when arrested and was remanded in custody.

When he made a second appearance from custody a week later, he continued to represent himself and was granted bail with the special conditions attached.

Fiscal depute Laurelle Johnston told the court: "The information I have is that he is not in this country and hasn't signed on at a police station as per the bail conditions.

"His passport has not been surrendered to the sheriff clerk's office."

The fiscal also told how a police officer visited the flat where Logan had lived.

Johnston said: "It is a student flat and there is a concierge at the door, who advised that he no longer resides there and now lives abroad.

"The indictment was served on the concierge."

Sheriff McKay said she could not issue a warrant for Logan if he was not aware he was meant to be in court.

She said: "It astonishes me we have police officers serving indictments like this.

"I am not granting a warrant in those terms. It might be worth feeding back to the police that it is just completely unacceptable."

The case was continued.