A WOMAN who smashed the rear window of a car with a paving slab was given a six- month conditional discharge by magistrates.
Jill Gray, 36, of Grasmere Road, Ferryhill, admitted damaging the car, which belonging to Gavin Dawes.
The court heard that Gray had gone to a house where Mr Dawes was with some friends.
She had been drinking and was asked to leave. She returned later, waving a plastic shovel, before she picked up a paving slab and threw it through the car window.
John Turner, for Gray, said she was a widow, with three children, who suffers from depression since the deaths of her husband and father.
The death of her husband had led to her children suffering depression, and two of them had made suicide attempts.
Mr Turner said Gray went to the house, which she believed was being used by heroin dealers, because she feared her son was there.
He said: "She was concerned about her son and went there to see if he was present and to get him out of there. What she did was not lawful, but given that context we can imagine the emotions going on in her mind at that time."
Magistrates gave Gray a six-month conditional discharge for the criminal damage offence and ordered her to pay £150 compensation.
A further six-month conditional discharge was imposed after she pleaded guilty to failing to surrender to bail on August 1
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