A row was sparked between Helen Jacobsen and family after she buried her husband 10 years ago. The 46-year-old paid for her husband’s funeral and held onto his ashes — however, her mother-in-law was far from happy with this and tensions between the pair rose.

It culminated in a public argument during a Sunday bus journey in Dumbarton town centre.

Jacobsen got on the bus at High Street and sat behind her former mother-in-law who had gotten on at Bonhill Road.

Fiscal depute, Claire Martin told Dumbarton Sheriff court how an argument started on the bus after widowed Jacobsen said ‘shame on you’ to the mother of her deceased husband.

This was thought to be in relation to not making the effort to see her granddaughter.

Ms Martin added: “She then said, ‘why don’t you just die’. She repeated that before getting off.

“The pair usually get off at the same stop, but the complainer stayed on and reported the matter to police when she got home.” The court heard how Jacobsen, of Sunderland Avenue in Dumbarton, lives just 150 yards from her former mother-in-law.

Defending, Mr Adair told the court his client was ‘left with the funeral bill’ and had retained the ashes of her husband.

He added: “Her and the complainer had a dispute that has rumbled on.

“The complainer has not involved herself with the granddaughter and that sparked the initial comment from Ms Jacobsen.” Sheriff Simon Pender fined Jacobsen £250 after she admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner, swearing at her 76-year-old victim.