Warring traveller groups, involved in a long-running feud, engaged in a two-hour tense stand-off outside Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday.
Members of the rival McPhee and Stewart families were kept nearly 100m apart by 10 police officers after arguments in the town centre led to public clashes.
Security guards at the court called for extra support after the clans, who have a well-known mutual hatred of each other, began shouting inside the building.
The eight-strong Stewart family were kept in check outside the courthouse, while a dozen McPhees were corralled inside the Moray Council annexe car park.
Two police cars and two police vans were parked between the traveller factions as officers attempted to keep the peace.
Despite banks of police being posted between the warring groups, the families continued to shout and make offensive gestures down the street.
Senior officers also attended as the stand-off continued for over two hours.
Police and security guards kept a vigil until the relevant family members had appeared in the dock. Court staff only allowed the accused into the building to prevent any further disruption.
One member of the Stewart contingent said the angry exchanges were entirely predictable and avoidable.
He said: “This is the court’s fault. Why would you have two families who hate each other in court on the same day?”
A member of the McPhee group explained the “feud” had been passed down from older generations.
He said: “We just hate each other. Whenever we see each other, it just ends up in a fight.”
The commotion attracted onlookers to the town centre with business owners peeking through blinds to discover the reason behind the increased police presence.
In court, fiscal Alison Wylie told Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov the families should not be scheduled to appear in court again on the same day.
She said: “It may not be appropriate to have some parties in court for the same sitting.”
Mrs Wylie added: “No doubt, my lady heard the noise going on in the building today.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said: “Proceedings at the court were not affected by the activity outside the building.”
