Butler freed of criminal tag to serve countess breakfast

In almost all respects, Gary Lindley is the perfect butler. He is industrious, usually impeccably behaved and, most important of all, makes the most splendid scrambled eggs. So his employer, the Countess of Arran, was left just a little miffed when he was convicted of assault and landed with a curfew order that meant he could not leave his home until well after breakfast time.

Happily for aristocrat and butler, magistrates in Devon have rethought the curfew order after it was argued that the sentence was keeping him from his duties - and those perfectly cooked eggs are back on the countess's menu. The saga for servant and lady began in December when Lindley, 34, was kicked out of a pub in Appledore, north Devon.

A little later he was involved in a fracas with a 50-year-old man. The older man ended up with black eyes and bruised ribs and Lindley, who used to work for the royal family, was hauled before magistrates in Barnstaple. He was convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm and ordered to wear an electronic tag to make sure he stayed at home in Brixham between 9pm and 9am - 90 miles from the countess's breakfast table at her Palladian mansion, Castle Hill, in Barnstaple.


Photo from here.

Lindley returned to the magistrates court in Torquay last week to explain that the sentence was keeping him from his duties, and magistrates agreed that the tag could be removed when he has to work at the estate at night. Cue delight from the countess."He is the sort of butler a lot of people would like to have," she said after the hearing. "He is extremely hardworking and a very good cook. He cooks the best breakfasts every day and the best scrambled eggs."

The countess said the duties of a modern butler involved "more than standing in the corner of a room waiting on tables". She said that his job ranged from "making breakfast to driving the countess and earl on appointments" and added: "Gary has worked for us for more than 10 years and we have seen him grow up and get married. He is the most wonderful butler and these things can happen to anyone. We all adore him up here and will support him through thick and thin

Lindley, who works in a supermarket when he is not a butler, told the magistrates he was an "honest person" who had acted out of character when he committed the crime. They agreed he could take the tag off during such special occasions but must continue to adhere to the sentence at other times.