TWO men charged with assaulting a sailor from the royal yacht
Britannia were remanded in custody yesterday when they made a brief
appearance in court just hours after the man died.
Magistrates at Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, ordered Mr Craig Black, 20,
and Mr Michael Trotman, 23, to appear again before magistrates at
Devizes on August 31.
Mr Black and Mr Trotman were handcuffed together and flanked by two
uniformed police officers when they appeared in the dock for the
12-minute hearing.
Mr Black, of Marlborough, and Mr Trotman, of Swindon, were both
charged with causing Mr Perie Shiels grievous bodily harm on Saturday
night in Marlborough.
Both men were represented by solicitors who did not oppose a remand
application by the prosecutor.
Mr Shiels, 22, of Birmingham, a radio operator on the royal yacht, was
found unconscious in Figgins Lane, off High Street, Marlborough, early
on Saturday morning.
He was taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital, Swindon, where he was
put on a life support system. Doctors pronounced him dead early
yesterday.
His mother, Mrs Diane Shiels, was at his bedside over the past days.
But she was not there when he died. She was at the Wootton Bassett
court.
She stood outside the building in tears as a small group of relatives
and friends shouted abuse and swore as the two accused were taken to the
court in a police van.
The tiny courtroom was crowded a short time later by press, members of
Mr Shiels's family, and relatives of the accused men. The Queen sent a
message of condolence to the family of Mr Shiels, Buckingham Palace said
last night.
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