Kirkcaldy woman had Stanley blade while at a Fife hospital

Elaine Brown, of Blackcraigs, appeared via video link from prison before Sheriff Ian Anderson at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

Brown, 43, admitted on January 5, 2022 at Victoria Hospital, Hayfield Road, Kirkcaldy and elsewhere, she had with her a Stanley blade without reasonable excuse or lawful authority.

She committed the offence while on bail.

Brown’s defence lawyer told the court his client was not someone who had been in trouble a lot in the past but that there had been a deterioration in her mental health.

He said she had been behaving in a ‘bizarre, erratic way with members of the public and authority figures’.

He explained what happened on the day in question: “She turned up at the hospital and volunteered to staff that she had the item. The blade was concealed and she had it for protection purposes.”

He said she had not been complying with medication and was not in a good place mentally. But he told the court she has now improved and has been receiving support.

He continued: “She seems to have stabilised and thinks that going to jail in January was the best thing to have happened to her as it has helped her get back into a routine. She has learned her lesson.”

Her lawyer suggested that perhaps sentence could be deferred for a short period for Brown to be of good behaviour.

Sheriff Anderson opted to defer sentence until July 26.