A north-east woman has admitted threatening to beat up a schoolgirl and her mum after jumping onto a bus drunk.
Laura Gemmell appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court yesterday, where she admitted telling a school pupil that she would get her sister to attack her and then warning her mum that she would personally “kick her head in”.
The court heard that the 39-year-old, of Queens Crescent in Rosehearty, had been drinking heavily to cope with the death of her partner, and had boarded a bus in use by school pupils to travel to Strichen last year.
Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAllister said she targeted one schoolgirl in particular during the journey from Fraserburgh.
“The bus at the time was used by school pupils,” he added.
“She told her she was going to get her sister to beat her up.
“When the bus arrived in Strichen, (the girl’s mother) saw the accused still shouting and swearing.
“She told her she would ‘kick her head in’. The bus driver told her to leave.”
The frightened youngster had called her mum to meet her at the bus stop after being threatened by Gemmell.
Yesterday, her solicitor, Sam Milligan, said Gemmell now wanted the opportunity to prove she could be on good behaviour before being sentenced.
The request was granted by Sheriff Christine McCrossan.
Mr Milligan explained that his client had snapped after being laughed at by pupils on the bus for falling in and out of consciousness.
“At that point, Miss Gemmell was not in a good place,” he said.
“She lost her partner of a number of years, and she had been confronting her grief by consuming alcohol.
“She was made something of a figure of fun and ridiculed by these youngsters on the bus. She obviously regrets her behaviour over that period and date.”
The incident happened on November 7 last year.
Gemmell will return to court on May 24 for sentencing.
