A man appeared in court in Scotland yesterday over an incident in which an Irish student was seriously injured by a falling traffic cone.
Kate Flannery (23), Beechcourt, Salthill, Galway, suffered spinal injuries after being hit by the cone after it was thrown off a bridge in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Australian national Andrew Smith (29) was charged with culpable and reckless conduct when he appeared at the city's sheriff court yesterday. He was arrested earlier in the day after walking into a police station in the capital.
The cone fell from George IV Bridge on to Merchant Street at about 3.40am on Sunday. Ms Flannery, who has been studying in Edinburgh for the past 18 months, had been on a night out.
She was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but later moved to a specialist spinal injuries unit at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow. Her family has travelled to Scotland.
Mr Smith was remanded in custody and will be released on bail as soon as his passport has been surrendered to the court.
Hospital staff described her condition yesterday as "serious". Lothian and Borders Police launched an investigation and made public appeals for information. A police spokesman said: "The man handed himself in to St Leonards police station after seeing a media appeal on television." - (PA)