A HELENSBURGH mum of 12 put a brick through the car windscreen of a former employee after discovering the woman was having an affair with her husband, a court has heard.

Michelle Stewart, who lived in Ardencaple Drive at the time, discovered that the woman had entered into a relationship with her partner of 20 years shortly after joining the couple’s property management business.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard on Friday, November 8 that 35-year-old Stewart, who now lives in another part of the country, sent abusive and menacing messages to the woman, calling her a “f*****g s**t”, among other insults, and a “dirty rat b*****d”.

The court was told that the complainer took on a cleaning contract with the firm run by the accused and her husband in October 2017.

The woman then entered into a relationship with Stewart’s husband.

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Fiscal depute Emma Thomson said the accused became aware of the relationship after several months, and went on to withhold payments that were due to the complainer before ending her contract of employment.

On March 23, 2018, the complainer was said to have received abusive calls and Facebook messages from Stewart referring to her as a “slag”, “f*****g s**t”, “skank” and a “dirty rat b*****d”.

The messages also contained threats of “you better watch your back” and “I’m going to smash you and his car”.

Ms Thomson said the woman did not report the messages to the police, as she assumed Stewart was “letting off steam” and thought she would calm down and the messages would stop.

However, Ms Thomson said, the messages persisted until October last year.

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Ms Thomson told the hearing that on October 17, 2018, the complainer picked up the accused’s husband and another person in Dumbarton and drove to Rosneath, where they spent the night.

At 7am the following morning, she found the front windscreen of her vehicle had been smashed.

Ms Thomson said Stewart had instructed a private investigator to prepare for divorce proceedings, and that the investigator advised Stewart of the complainer's whereabouts.

Stewart was said to have posted on Facebook on October 17 saying that she had seen the complainer and followed her to the address in Rosneath, before sending a message saying: “No, they didn’t answer, so I put a brick through her window.”

She sent another message which read: “Damage done,” and included pictures of the broken windscreen.

The complainer contacted the police in February this year to give a statement, and on February 21 officers attended Stewart’s home in Helensburgh, where she told police: “Aye, fair enough, you know what, I did it.”

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The court heard that the complainer is still in a relationship with Stewart’s husband, and was told the complainer was seeking a non-harassment order and compensation of more than £2,200 for the damaged windscreen – though that amount was deemed excessive by Sheriff William Gallacher.

Defence solicitor Kenny McGowan said: “It was a matter of some sensitivity.

“It was a 20-year relationship, with 12 children, and my client’s current circumstances are sensitive. She has relocated and has had significant support from Women’s Aid.

“Mrs Stewart has gone to considerable lengths to take responsibility for her actions.

“For a person in a situation like this it is not the easiest thing to deal with; it was a tit-for-tat situation.”

Citing Stewart’s lack of any significant criminal history, Sheriff Gallacher deferred sentence for four months and ordered her to be of good behaviour.

The sheriff told Stewart: “This simply should not have occurred, for all sorts of reasons, and you should not have allowed yourself to be a source of aggression.

“Whether you were justified or not I am not particularly interested, but it went far too far, for far too long, and simply was not acceptable.”

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