A HELENSBURGH businesswoman spent several hours in the cells at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Friday after an outburst at a sheriff.

Yvonne Girvan hit out after her son Rhys was sentenced on a charge of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at a property in the town.

Rhys Girvan, of Upper Torwoodhill Road in Rhu, was found guilty after a trial of touching the girl over her clothing in the incident on September 17 last year.

In court on Friday, Sheriff Maxwell Hendry placed the 18-year-old under social workers’ supervision for six months and told him to carry out 80 hours’ unpaid work by September as a punishment for the offence.

But as the teenager left the dock, his mother stood up and shouted at the sheriff: “This is a farce. Did you look at the evidence?”

After shrugging off attempts by police to have her quieten down or leave the courtroom, Mrs Girvan – who gave her name and said she was "the proud mother" of the accused – was ordered into the dock and asked if she had anything to say.

On replying that she did not, Sheriff Hendry told her: “I was prepared to allow you one outburst. You were told to remain silent; I’m now considering finding you in contempt of court.”

Some four hours later, Mrs Girvan was brought back into court to answer for her behaviour.

Duty solicitor Jonathan Paul said: “She is extremely apologetic. Her emotions have got the better of her in this whole case.

“She is a well respected Helensburgh businesswoman and mother and is ashamed of her performance in court earlier – not only her decorum, but being insulting to your Lordship.

“It’s frustration at what she sees as a miscarriage of justice. The time she has spent in a cell downstairs has been a very salutary lesson.”

Sheriff Hendry replied: “If she had gone away when she was told to leave I would have gone judicially and judiciously deaf. But a police officer spoke to her, she ignored a warning and continued to shout.

“If she had said sorry I would have let her leave the dock immediately. But she did not take that opportunity.”

Referring back to Rhys Girvan’s trial, in which evidence was given in private, the sheriff added: “She challenged me as to whether I heard the evidence in the case.

“Of course I heard the evidence. The irony is that the evidence was heard in closed court. I don’t know what she may have heard about what was said, perhaps filtered through the accused.”

Mrs Girvan told the court: “I apologise profusely for that outburst. I’ve been under a great deal of stress but I know that’s not an excuse.”

The sheriff replied: “This time, and this time only, I’m not going to make a finding of contempt.”