Sheriff Charles Macnair KC has retired after nine years on the bench at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

There was a large turn-out of prosecutors, defence solicitors, fellow sheriffs and court staff for a retiral ceremony at the end of his final working day.

He was presented with gifts including a large framed map of Dunfermline.

Sheriff Macnair was somewhat unusual in that he lived in the area he served. He is now retiring with his wife Pat to Essex to be closer to family members.

Sheriff Susan Duff paid tribute to her colleague for his support when she first moved to the court in Dunfermline.

Dunfermline Press: Sheriff Charles Macnair and his wife Pat are moving to Essex following his retiral.Sheriff Charles Macnair and his wife Pat are moving to Essex following his retiral. (Image: Contributed)

“He could not have done more to make me feel welcome when I came to Dunfermline,” she said.

“He is one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. He’s also very funny, he’s a great raconteur and I’ve laughed so much at his stories.

“He’s going to be the most enormous loss and will leave such a gap here.”

Sheriff Macnair told the gathering he was “quite amazed” by the number of people who had attended.

He joked that many were perhaps there just to make sure he actually went.

He said: “I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time here and it’s been a wonderful court to serve. It’s been a pleasure and privilege to serve the public of Dunfermline.”

He said he had first lived in Dunfermline in the late 1980s not long after he was married.

“We lived in a few houses in this area then moved to Edinburgh but came back here,” he said.

However, long before he stepped foot in Dunfermline he knew about current events in the area.

He recalled: “At my father’s accountancy firm in London one of the senior partners came originally from Dunfermline. Every week he had the Dunfermline Press delivered there and so it was always in the office.”

There was a warm toast from guests at the gathering, showing he will be fondly thought of, particularly by court officers with one even reading a poem she had written to him.

He may not be missed quite so much by the many crooks he jailed over the years. His leaving gifts included, as a joke, a half bottle of Buckfast, perhaps as a nod to the many cases the tonic wine played a part in during his time in Dunfermline.

Sheriff Macnair, 68, a former army officer, was on the bench at Cupar before his move to Dunfermline.