Top U.K. Druid charged with money fraud

LONDON (RNS) One of the prominent figures in the revived ancient
priesthood of Druidism in Britain has been charged with defrauding the
government of 40,000 pounds (about $25,000) in welfare payments over the
past eight years.


Druid Terry Dobney, the self-styled "Keeper of the Stones" at the
nation's ages-old monument at Stonehenge, is best known for his walks
through the countryside with a staff while wearing a tweed cap.


The 62-year-old arch-Druid told Salisbury Crown Court that the money
belonged to his mother and that he planned to use it to buy a new
thatched roof for his home.


Prosecutors, however, claim that Dobney routinely falsely signed
documents to accumulate illegal welfare payments. Fraud has sharply
increased in recent years in Britain's extensive welfare system.


In the nebulous assembly of Druids in Britain, Dobney is one of the
more famous, particularly in televised Druidic activities around
Stonehenge and the summer solstice celebrations a few miles north at
Avebury.


Druids formed a priestly class in ancient Britain, Ireland and other
Celtic parts of Europe during the Iron Age. But they kept few, if any,
written accounts, and present-day Druidic practices are largely based on
legends recounted by medieval writers.