Notorious Scots thug caused Covid scare at wedding venue hours before ceremony

A notorious thug caused a Covid scare at a wedding venue just hours before a couple's big day - after sleeping in the venue while infected with the deadly virus.

David Pryce, 36, had been released from prison early over a jail term imposed for an attack which ruined a pensioner's life.

But his mum refused to let him stay with her as he had Covid-19 and she suffers from lung illness Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).With nowhere to stay, Pryce managed to blag his way into a hotel, exposing the staff and wedding guests to a risk of catching the virus.

Pryce admitted his guilt over the incident when he appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court last week. He pleaded guilty to a charge of culpably or recklessly exposing people to a risk of catching the virus by being within the hotel whilst infected with the virus.He also admitted stealing a bottle of Southern Comfort from the gantry of the hotel bar.Prosecutor David McDonald told the court that staff at the Dalmeny Park House Hotel in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, were preparing for a wedding in July last year.He explained: "There was a bridal party at the hotel preparing for a wedding."Mr Pryce had been released from Low Moss prison to his mum's home address."His mum refused to allow him to reside there as she has underlying health conditions and is susceptible to infection."He was of no fixed abode and his intention was to declare himself homeless."The court heard he was seen drunkenly staggering around the hotel by a night porter in the early hours of July 5, 2021.He asked the worker to make him a Jack Daniels at 4.30am, and was told alcohol had stopped being served some six hours earlier, at 10.30pm.He said he was staying in room 39, which did not exist,