Two Moray men appeared in the dock at Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday after causing a fracas outside the same building the day before.
Chaotic scenes unfolded at the front of the High Street venue on Thursday afternoon when court scheduling brought members of two feuding traveller families into direct conflict.
More than 10 police officers were called to separate the McPhee and Stewart families, and remained in place for hours to prevent violence from breaking out.
As a result of the disturbance, two members of the Stewart family were reported to the procurator fiscal.
Ryan Stewart, 22, of 14 Seaview Court in Cullen has admitted a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at the junction between Elgin High Street and Glover Street, by “running towards others, challenging others to fight and uttering threats of violence”.
James Stewart, 20, of 2 Anderson Drive in Elgin, also pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by removing his clothing while challenging his rivals to a fight and threatening them with violence.
Sentence was deferred on both men for the preparation of criminal justice social work reports and they will return to the court on Thursday, July 7.
The rivalry between the McPhee and Stewart families is thought to date back generations.
A member of the McPhee family said the warring factions “just hated each other”.
Following the dispute on Thursday, fiscal Alison Wylie suggested it might be “inappropriate” to arrange for members of the McPhee and Stewart families to attend court on the same day again.
