An Alyth woman swung her arms and made monkeys noises towards her neighbour, before threatening to kill her, a court has heard.
Suzanne Milne shouted abuse at her next-door rival from an upstairs window in what was described as a long-running “tit for tat” dispute.
Milne, 41, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, likely to cause fear or alarm, at her home in Springbank Road, Alyth on May 26 2021.
Prosecutors accepted a not guilty plea to a public indecency charge that alleged she dropped her trousers and exposed her buttocks.
Sheriff Gillian Wade told Milne she had “risen to the bait” and engaged in criminal conduct.
Monkey noises
Fiscal depute Bill Kermode said: “The complainer lives next door to the accused.
“There has been an ongoing dispute between them for some time.”
He said: “On this day, the complainer looked out of her home and saw the accused speaking to some people across the street.
“She watched the accused walk across the road.
“She made monkey-style gestures by swinging her arms and making monkey noises.
“The accused shouted something but the complainer could not make out what it was.
“She then heard her laughing loudly.”
The woman went back inside and checked CCTV.
In the footage, she heard Milne say: “I’ll show you a kick right off the end of my boot.”
“The witness was frightened,” said Mr Kermode.
Threats from above
Some time later, the woman was sitting outside with others in her back garden.
“She looked up and saw the accused at an upstairs window,” said the fiscal depute.
“She opened it and said: ‘Is bullying a 77-year-old woman your new thing?’”
Milne then said: “I’m going to f***ing kill you. I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”
Mr Kermode said: “The witnesses went inside, locked the doors and contacted police.”
‘It’s still ongoing’
Milne’s solicitor told the court: “There has been a significant dispute between the two neighbours.
“It has been tit for tat. This is very much not a one-sided story.”
Mother-of-four Milne added: “It’s still ongoing.”
Sheriff Gillian Wade told her: “Clearly, there is a lot more to this and perhaps its true that one side is as bad as the other.
“You have risen to the bait and that has resulted in criminal behaviour.”
The sheriff fined Milne £300 and urged her to try to stay away from her neighbour.
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