An insult towards a baby sparked a massive fracas between traveller families outside Elgin Sheriff Court.
Tensions between the warring Stewarts and McPhees escalated when members of each group had court appearances scheduled on the same day last month.
A dozen police officers had to separate the families, and remained in place for hours to prevent violence breaking out.
Yesterday, Ryan Stewart, 22, returned to the dock at Elgin Sheriff Court to face sentencing for his part in the disturbance.
And his lawyer revealed that the chaotic scenes erupted when a rival made obscene remarks about his client’s infant son.
The drama unfolded at 11am on Thursday, June 16.
Fiscal Ruaridh McAllister said: “Abuse was being shouted back and forth between the two groups, who were 50ft apart, and extra police officers were called.”
The court heard that Stewart ran towards members of the McPhee family while “shouting threats of violence”, and officers had to brandish pepper spray to deter him from carrying them out.
Stewart’s solicitor, Brent Lockie, said: “I’m not going to cast aspersions about the McPhee clan, but this got very personal.
“The insult that really set this off was about his baby, who he loves very much.”
Stewart admitted a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at the junction between Elgin High Street and Glover Street, by “running towards others, challenging others to fight and uttering threats of violence”.
The rivalry between the families is thought to date back generations, and a member of the McPhee family said they “just hated each other”.
Yesterday, Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov condemned the “disgraceful” behaviour of those responsible for the drama.
She said: “The saddest thing in all of this is that you can’t tell me what the dispute between the Stewart and McPhee families is about, because it goes so far back that no-one can remember it.”
She placed Stewart under supervision for the next year, enforced a restriction of liberty order between 7pm and 7am and ordered him to perform 160 hours of community service.
James Stewart, of 2 Anderson Drive in Elgin, appeared alongside the accused, after “stripping to the waist” during the fracas and threatening McPhee family members.
The 20-year-old will return to the court for sentencing next month.
