A BONHILL woman was warned about her conduct after she burst out laughing in the middle of open court.

Yvonne Brooks was sitting in the public gallery at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week waiting on her turn in the dock on drug dealing charges when the incident took place.

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry warned she could have been held in contempt of court and said: “The age of irony is clearly not dead when you, as a drug dealer, feel able to laugh in open court and encourage your teenage son to laugh beside you when you hear about the conduct of a drunk towards another female person.

“If you appear before me in court in the future, I will remember your name and your face.” Brooks, 37, later entered the dock after previously pleading guilty to supplying cannabis from her Pappert home.

Scott Simpson, fiscal depute, told the court £2,694 had been recovered from the property.

Various other pieces of drug paraphernalia found included scales, filters and lights but no significant quantities of drugs were recovered.

Brooks was present during the search. When she was interviewed at Clydebank Police Station, she made full admissions and told officers she sold the drug to her family and friends.

Kenny Clark, defending, told the court his client recognised the serious nature of the charge.

Mr Clark said: “Ms Brooks has done everything she can to turn her life around since the incident.

“She is no longer abusing cannabis. That has allowed her to find part-time work. She feels she is doing a better job as a parent.” Sheriff Maxwell Hendry warned Brooks a repetition of the offending would lead to a prison sentence and said: “You have previous convictions in terms of the Misuse of Drugs Act though none as serious as this. When someone is dealing class B drugs in the community, the court has to consider sending that person to prison. If you commit this offence in the future, I expect prison will be the inevitable outcome.” Brooks was ordered to carry out 190 hours of unpaid work within six months. She was placed under supervision for a year and a Crown motion for forfeiture of £2,694 was accepted.