'Heavily intoxicated' Wick woman fined

A Wick woman who behaved in a threatening or abusive manner while under the influence of alcohol was fined £250 at the town's sheriff court on Wednesday.

Police tasked with making a welfare check on Margaret Coleman, on December 28 last year, found her near her home in Macpherson Walk, Wick, "heavily intoxicated".

When advised by officers to go home, she shouted and swore at them and lashed out at the glass panel of a neighbour's front door, causing it to break.

Solicitor Meegan Anderson said that Coleman had been struggling with the loss of her son at the time. Miss Anderson added: "She was using alcohol as a crutch."

Coleman (59) pleaded guilty and also admitted a previous record of offending.