Fine for unruly actions

A drunken grandmother caused mayhem in Rattray when she grabbed a mobility scooter and pulled it along the street.

Sixty-five year-old Elaine MacDonald also tried to rip a wicker basket off its handlebars after flying into a violent rage.

Perth Sheriff Court was told that the OAP, who had been affected by the death of her pet dog, repeatedly struck the front door where the scooter owner lived.

She also banged on the window as she hurled abuse at the occupants and made violent threats to “kill them”.

In a separate incident a month earlier, the accused repeatedly made phone calls to the police emergency services, again making violent threats, before unleashing a stream of racist remarks.

MacDonald, of Glenshee Drive, Rattray, admitted that on May 21, 2020, at her home, she behaved in a threatening or abusive manner, likely to “cause a reasonable person fear or alarm.”

She pled guilty to a second charge which took place on June 22, 2020, in Hatton Road, Rattray, and also during the course of a journey in a police vehicle.

Depute fiscal Andrew Harding told the court that the woman involved had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and needed the mobility scooter.

She heard the accused shouting outside and locked the front door to stop her getting in.

The shouting stopped after a few minutes but MacDonald was then seen attempting to damage the scooter by trying to “snap off” the basket attached to the handlebars.

“No damage appeared to have been done, however,” added the fiscal.

The accused was described as being “under the influence of alcohol ”when arrested.

A total of six 999 calls had been made to police over a six-hour period on May 21 last year, some of them involving racist abuse of Chinese people at a local chip shop.

Solicitor Mike Tavendale said a background report revealed the accused had a“fairly long-standing drink problem.”

She had managed to remain abstinent, however, since the incident last June.

He said: “She’s very well-known in the community and in the past her good nature has certainly been taken advantage of.”

Sheriff Gillian Wade fined the accused a total of £600.