A 76-year-old woman has admitted a racially-aggravated assault on her Northern Irish neighbour, telling her: “You should have been shot with the rest of them.”
Pensioner Catherine Powell clashed with the woman outside her home in Balbeggie, near Perth, and slapped her across the face.
She told her: “You’re the bully in my country.”
Powell appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted charges of assault and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, including making racist comments, on September 3.
The court heard an argument began when local children began playing on their bikes close to Powell’s car, parked outside her home in Gaskhill Road.
‘The old lady has started again’
Fiscal depute Stuart Hamilton said: “The accused and the complainer live in neighbouring properties and are known to each other.
“The complainer is originally from Northern Ireland and has a strong accent.”
The prosecutor told the court: “At around 4.50pm, the complainer was at home when her son came in crying, stating that ‘the old lady had started again’.
“She went outside and could hear the accused shouting at children, telling them to ‘f*** off.’
“The complainer approached the accused and challenged her.”
Powell began ranting: “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”
Another neighbour came out and tried to separate the pair.
“The complainer turned to speak to the neighbour and when she turned back the accused slapped her across the face, on the left cheek,” Mr Hamilton said.
The pair struggled and Powell shouted: “F*** off back to Ireland” and “You should have been shot with the rest of them.”
When Powell was called a bully, she replied: “No, I’m not. You’re the bully in my country.”
The woman returned to her home and called police.
When questioned by officers, Powell said she “only scuffed” her neighbour.
Perthshire pensioner is ‘forthright’
Solicitor Mike Tavendale, defending, said: “At 76, Ms Powell is the oldest resident in her block.
“It’s fair to say that these children have been tormenting her for some time.”
He said the youngsters had been using a ramp near Powell’s car and were jumping over it on their bikes.
“She was concerned that her car would get scratched.
“She went out and picked up the ramp and put it to the side.
“The neighbour then emerged and her position is that it was the neighbour who was shouting and swearing.
“Ms Powell then reacted in a way that she shouldn’t have.”
Mr Tavendale said his client did not fully accept the Crown’s version of events as narrated in the court but admitted using a racial slur.
“She has never been in any form of trouble before and she feels ashamed to find herself in court,” he said.
Powell is now looking to move out of the street after nine months.
“She is a lady who strikes me as being quite forthright,” said Mr Tavendale.
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon told Powell: “It is always a concern when someone of your age comes to court for the first time.
“Clearly there is a background to this matter but you acted in a manner that was entirely inappropriate.”
The sheriff deferred sentence until March next year, to give Powell the chance to prove she can stay out of trouble and show the offence was a “one-off.”
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