A 51-year-old woman has dodged a jail term after being found guilty of “an appalling” assault on a pregnant woman during which she repeatedly punched her on the stomach.

Elizabeth Boyd, of Lawson Drive in Ardrossan, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week for sentencing after being found guilty by trial.

Her plea of not guilty to a second assault charge was previously accepted by the prosecutor.

The assault on the pregnant woman, which took place at Boyd’s home address, was described by Sheriff Craig Harris as “an appalling offence”.

On June 24 of last year at her home address, Boyd seized a pregnant woman by the neck, pushed her against a vehicle and repeatedly punched her on the stomach.

The court heard that the woman was checked over in hospital following the assault but both her and the unborn child were found to be uninjured.

Sheriff Craig Harris said that he was “considering custody” but Boyd’s defence lawyer Brian Holliman pointed out his client’s lack of record, adding that there had been no further incidents between her and the pregnant woman.

Mr Holliman said: “The offence is now more than 12 weeks old and there has been no behaviour between Miss Boyd and the complainer.

“The [social work] report identified a number of issues in Miss Boyd’s life – her mental health, her physical health.

“She is not suitable for unpaid work because of her physical difficulties.”

Sheriff Harris told Boyd: “This was a quite frankly appalling offence. You assaulted a pregnant woman knowing fine well she was pregnant.

“You struck her multiple times without any regard for the unborn child’s wellbeing.”

Sheriff Harris told Boyd that she was “extremely fortunate” that the woman was not injured, adding: “Similarly, you are fortunate that there has been no injury to the child.

“There were some concerns about the child’s weight but there is no medical evidence to suggest that this was due to this incident. Indeed the child is healthy.

“Had there been any injury you would have gone to jail. Had you had any previous convictions you would have gone to jail “However, as you appear at court as a first offender, the court must consider that another sentence is appropriate.”

Sheriff Harris sentenced Boyd to a six-month Restriction of Liberty Order and a Community Payback Order.

He also ordered her to pay £1,500 in compensation to the victim. He told Boyd: “This is quite an appalling offence and I intend to make you help those you hurt so I am imposing a Compensation Order.

“The Community Payback Order will be reviewed in this court in six months time. If you fail to attend the review then a warrant will be issued for your arrest.

“I cannot be more clear about this. This order is a direct alternative to prison.”