A fight erupted between two mothers after a baby shower ‘turned sour’, a court heard.
The assault, carried out by Sarah Wilson, the niece of darts legend Jocky Wilson, ended in Pamela Ritchie having a chunk of hair ripped out of her head.
A court heard how the fight arose as barbed comments were traded between the two families at the baby shower as tensions were fuelled by games including ‘Baby Bingo’.
Wilson, 45, appeared for sentencing yesterday after previously admitting to assaulting Ms Ritchie at Lochore Miners’ Welfare Institute in Fife in May last year.
Her daughter Chardonnay, 20, was also found guilty of assaulting 61-year-old Mrs Ritchie.
A trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard there was growing hostility between the relatives of the couple holding the baby shower party.
Light-hearted games such as ‘Baby Bingo’ were said to have been ruined by offensive comments fired back and forward across the hall.
Sarah Wilson’s solicitor, Stephen Morrison said: ‘This was a baby shower celebration that turned sour for one reason or another.
Sarah Wilson, the niece of darts legend Jocky Wilson, attacked Pamela Ritchie at a baby shower in Fife
‘She absolutely regrets the incident and she hadn’t been drinking that day. She continues to have a relationship with her daughter’s partner but not with the rest of his family.
‘There’s no reason to believe there will be a repetition of this behaviour as she’s not likely to put herself into another family situation like this.’
The solicitor said his client suffers from physical and mental health issues, receives over £2,000 a month in benefits and was unfit to do unpaid work.
Sheriff Susan Duff pointed out that Wilson had only submitted her guilty plea after Mrs Ritchie, had given evidence to her trial.
She said: ‘Mrs Ritchie’s evidence was that she was left with a bald section on her head as a chunk of hair had been pulled out.’
The sheriff ordered £500 compensation to be paid to the victim and said she was unimpressed by Wilson’s reaction in the dock, telling Mr Morrison: ‘Your client’s face said an awful lot about what she thought of the sentence.’
Chardonnay Wilson, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, was previously found guilty of a charge that she assaulted Mrs Ritchie by attempting to seize her essential nasogastric feeding tube.
In her evidence, she told the court the event had started at 1pm and was a baby shower for her sister Chantelle, ahead of the birth of her daughter, which happened a fortnight later.
She said the two families were sitting at different tables and ‘at first it was fine’.
However, tensions mounted during a game called ‘Would Mummy Rather’.
She explained that there was a question “would mummy rather put a bottle on for the baby or open a bottle of wine?’.
She said someone from the dad-to-be’s family shouted out that the new mum would open a bottle of wine.
Chardonnay Wilson told the court: ‘Chantelle got upset and everything started to escalate from there,’
She described how her mother and Mrs Ritchie were ‘arguing back and forward’.
The court was told there was more arguing during a game of ‘Baby Bingo’ and allegations about various sexual comments being heard.
Although found guilty, Sheriff Duff granted Chardonnay Wilson an absolute discharge as a conviction on her record would have ended her career as a carer for elderly and vulnerable people.
