A MOTHER and daughter who admitted making racial and threatening comments during a neighbourly dispute about car parking have been told to pay £500.
Deborah Lyons, 52, of Lothian Road, Hawick, and 20-year-old Sophia Yorke of Cotgreen Road, Tweedbank, pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
The offence happened in Cotgreen Road, on January 23.
Selkirk Sheriff Court was told the background to the events was a parking dispute amongst the neighbours.
Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser explained that on the evening of the offence Lyons was spotted placing a wheelie bin behind a neighbour's car blocking the vehicle in.
The man phoned the police who were unable to attend and as he walked back into his property he saw Lyons and Yorke waving at him but he ignored them.
Three hours later the man's wife - who comes from Germany - saw Yorke moving the wheelie bin to block their vehicle again and police were called for a second time.
Yorke was heard to say, 'I cannot understand you, speak English' and 'go back your own country'.
Lyons was also heard by neighbours saying, 'Go back to where you come from you f****** bitch'.
The court heard Lyons had an analogous previous conviction involving the same complainer.
Defence lawyer Ross Dow said: "This is over a dispute of car parking and bins being put behind Miss Lyons' car. But they acknowledge they should not be speaking like that."
He explained that Yorke was about to move address so their paths wouldn't cross again as Lyons would have no need to be in Cotgreen Road.
Both women were each fined £150 and also told to pay £100 each in compensation to the neighbour.
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