Fallen football star Garry O’Connor has sparked a row after netting a sought after council house.
The former Hibs hitman who was earning £16,000 a week at the height of his career has moved into a newly-built council property in the Law View estate in North Berwick, believed to cost just £65-a-week in rent.
But residents are furious the 31-year-old, recently released by third-tier club Morton and whose last address was nearby Longniddry, has landed the desirable house ahead of locals.
Irene Galloway, of Law Residents Group, said: “The area is a lovely, modern council estate. It’s a very desirable estate.
“But there’s a lot of anger here that people from outside North Berwick have moved into them.
“North Berwick is a sought after area especially this new estate. But you’ve got people from other areas of East Lothian getting houses because they’ve got more qualifying points.
“Local folk who didn’t get them aren’t happy.”
The newly built estate, which has 42 homes, lies close to North Berwick Law, an iconic volcanic formation that dominates the picturesque town. But the estate must still seem a million miles away from the palatial homes and flash cars O’Connor and partner Lisa were used to.
There was no sign of the £120,000 Ferrari Spyder F430 he bought after landing his megabucks £16k-a-week deal at Lokomotiv Moscow in 2006. Instead, last week, the father-of-two was spotted doing the school run in a bargain Peugeot 106.
At the start of the year it was revealed O’Connor, who has 16 caps for the Scottish national side, was being chased by creditors after racking up huge debts with reports he had agreed to a trust deed arrangement a step away from being made bankrupt.
In February, the Bank of Scotland took O’Connor to court to seize his £200,000 semi in leafy Longniddry.
In 2012, O’Connor lost an eye-watering £350,000 after selling a mansion in the posh nearby estate of Archerfield, which he paid £1.3 million for in 2008. In the same year he was cleared of attempting to defraud his insurance company over a £93,500 claim on his crashed Ferrari.
Last week, it was revealed prosecutors had dropped serious road charges against him. He had been due in Haddington Sheriff Court to answer claims he drove his Chrysler 300C last June in nearby Port Seton under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
And it wasn’t the first time the star who was recently blasted by Morton’s chairman as being “hopeless and unfit” has had a brush with the law.
In 2012, he launched a foul-mouthed rant after being convicted of possession of cocaine and ordered to do 200 hours of community service. The court heard how the striker gave police a false name but bolted when he began misspelling it in front of shocked officers.
Last year, he was fined £300 after admitting possessing cocaine.
One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, added: “It’s pretty remarkable he’s living here. Looking at him, you wouldn’t think he was a former Scotland striker who used to earn thousands a week.”
Scotland is in the midst of a council home crisis. Last year, Audit Scotland said the Scottish Government has built 14,000 fewer homes than what is required. Over 180,000 Scots are currently on a waiting list for a local authority home.
East Lothian Council was unavailable for comment.
Yesterday, O’Connor refused to comment when approached by The Sunday Post. Speaking from the new house he asked us to contact his lawyer.
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