A WOMAN who attacked her neighbour’s car with an axe has been told to repay just one-tenth of the cost of the damage.

Antonia Elliot, 30, had previously admitted causing damage of £1,000 in the attack on Boxing Day 2019, in a confrontation with a neighbour in Hillend Crescent, Duntocher.

At a hearing in August, Dumbarton Sheriff Court was told there was a suggestion Elliot - previously of Craigielea Road, Duntocher, and now of Fingal Street, Maryhill - had been provoked by an offensive remark made to her earlier in the day.

At a hearing on Friday Elliot’s solicitor said the incident was in the context of an “ongoing neighbour dispute” and she had been drinking on the day.

The solicitor said: “Her position is at some point, he said something. It has to be accepted she was under the influence.

“There was a very significant breakdown in this woman’s mental health as a consequence of what was a very significant trauma.

“She’s not trying to minimise her behaviour and fully accepts what she did.

“To her credit, she pleaded guilty to the matter and expressed regret for her behaviour and acknowledged this was out of character.”

There had been no further offending since the Boxing Day incident, the lawyer added, and Elliot was starting to take a “turn for the better”.

He also said Elliot had left the area, so there was no issue of contact with the now former neighbours.

Sentencing, Sheriff William Gallacher told Elliot: “Your behaviour on this day was appalling.

“You were in the throes of what would have been a horrendous personal point of your life. I don’t require to send you to custody, but it’s a very close call, because the public are entitled to protection.”

Elliot – who was the subject of a bail order at the time of the offence – was put under social work supervision for two years. She must also carry out 160 hours of unpaid work in the community within 12 months.

She was ordered to pay £100 in compensation, and a non-harassment order was imposed banning her from entering Hillend Crescent, or having any form of contact with three individuals at a property there until 2024.

Sheriff Gallacher added: “If you fail to comply, I will send you to prison for a lengthy period of time.”

At the previous hearing, the court heard Elliot shouted “grasses get slashes” from outside the property. She later returned with a hatchet and swung it at a blue Fiat taxi six times, causing extensive damage worth £1,000.