A Scots mum arrested for throwing a trifle during a Christmas party at a plush hotel suffered “trauma” after witnessing a murder, a court heard.
Lianne Bell flung the desert along with other food, including sausage rolls, after kicking off at the four-star Grosvenor Hotel in Edinburgh.
The 41-year-old then sank her teeth into the hand of a female constable who was trying to detain her.
Bell appeared for sentencing at the city's sheriff court on Monday which heard she had “little recollection” of the bizarre incident.
Her lawyer told how Bell was now seeking counselling for victims of trauma due to her past experiences.
The court heard Bell witnessed a gruesome murder in 2010 in Rosyth, Fife.
Her then boyfriend Jason Kinnaird stabbed dad-of-three Johnny Moran four times in her flat before dragging him out into the snow-covered street where he severed his jugular vein.
The court also learned Bell’s brother died in 2011 while in police custody after being taken to a station by cops.
Defence agent Calum Harris said his client “does not seek to lean on” the tragedies to excuse her behaviour at the hotel, but she’d endured a “significant amount of trauma in her life”.
At a previous hearing, the court heard how police were called to the West End hotel and found the thrown food all over the floor.
Fiscal depute Christine Brownlie said Bell was at the festive party, which took place on December 23, and began remonstrating with staff about her phone being stolen.
Other hotel staff tried to intervene to “calm the situation” but Bell became “aggressive”.
Ms Brownlie said: “There was food at the party. The accused has begun to throw food in the hotel foyer, which included a trifle. It made a mess on the floor.”
The prosecutor said Bell bit Pc Claire Mitchell to the right hand while being detained.
Mr Harris told Monday’s hearing that Bell was working at the hotel and helped set up the party before joining the celebrations after her shift ended.
The solicitor said Bell, of Dunfermline, Fife, had drank alcohol and only remembers waking up in police custody.
He said Bell, who hadn’t come before the courts since 2011, was “horrified, embarrassed and disgusted by her actions”.
She was currently signed off work while she made efforts to deal with her past struggles.
Sheriff Peter McCormack deferred sentence on Bell until next month after hearing she was awaiting a move from homeless accommodation into a new tenancy in Kirkcaldy.
In August 2010 Kinnaird, then 29, was jailed for at least 17 years at the High Court in Glasgow after pleading guilty to murdering Johnny.
The court heard the pair had been drinking together at Bell’s home and rowed after Johnny tore up a photo of Kinnaird to use in a hand-rolled cigarette.
It was claimed Johnny punched Bell before Kinnaird, who had 51 previous convictions, knocked him into a TV then picked up a knife and stabbed him.
