Foul-mouthed English tourist guide who called woman a 'Welsh c***' is handed suspended jail sentence and £500 fine

  • Irene Laird called a woman a 'Welsh c***' during an outburst in a park
  • The 64-year-old tour guide insisted she is not racist, but was convicted
  • She was also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to the victim

By Chris Kitching for MailOnline

Published: 02:14 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 15:15 EST, 9 July 2015

An English tourist guide has been handed a suspended jail sentence and a fine after she launched a foul-mouthed anti-Welsh rant.

Irene Laird, 64, called a woman a ‘Welsh c***’ during an outburst in a public park in the Caernarfon area, in the heart of Welsh-speaking Wales.

When she appeared before a district judge, Laird, who lives in Rhosgadfan, in Gwynedd, insisted she is not racist, but was convicted of racially-aggravated common assault.

Irene Laird, 64, was handed a 60-day suspended jail sentence and a £500 fine by a judge in Caernarfon

Irene Laird, 64, was handed a 60-day suspended jail sentence and a £500 fine by a judge in Caernarfon

The incidents involving Laird and the victim, Gwladys Jones, happened in the Caernarfon area and were unrelated to Laird’s business, which boasts of having taken more than 2,000 visitors around Wales.

She was convicted of racially-aggravated common assault related to an incident last December, and racially-aggravated threatening behaviour for a second incident in February.

Neatly-dressed for her court appearance, Laird received a 60-day suspended jail term for the racially-aggravated assault, a £500 fine for the racially-aggravated threatening behaviour and was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to the victim for her trauma.

She must also pay £930 costs after denying the allegations. A five-year restraining order was also imposed.

Judge Jones told Laird: ‘This was the targeting of a victim in a park. It was deliberate.’

The judge said in the public park there was ‘gratuitous degradation’ of the victim and Laird used such a degree of offensive and racist language that Mrs Jones had difficulty recounting the words before the court.

Irene Laird's business boasts of having toured more than 2,000 visitors (pictured: Caernarfon Castle)

Irene Laird's business boasts of having toured more than 2,000 visitors (pictured: Caernarfon Castle)

The judge said Laird had wrongly assumed her victim was someone she'd come across before.

The victim was terrified and her ordeal affected her health, court was told.

She wanted to let matters go because of the stress, Judge Jones remarked, but there was then a second confrontation when Laird's comments included ‘f****** c***’.

The judge noted that when the racial abuse was mentioned by a probation officer to Laird ‘there was no recognition such behaviour was inappropriate and no element of remorse.’

He drew back from immediate custody because of Laird's age and because she had no previous convictions.

Prosecutor Diane Williams said Mrs Jones was receiving counselling and had trouble sleeping.

Laird, who represented herself in court, said: ‘This whole episode has badly traumatised me.’

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