SENTENCE on a Dunfermline woman has been further deferred after she asked to be remanded in custody so reports could be carried out. Laura Brearley had been due to receive her punishment for two offences, however, reports had not been prepared when she appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Her solicitor, James Moncrieff, said his client was keen to be assessed for a drug treatment and testing order but felt the best place to do this was in custody.

"In terms of her personal circumstances, she understands if she remains at liberty she will find herself in court on further offences," he said. "She thinks she would be in a better position to do it in a custodial setting."

Brearley, 34, of Broomhead Drive, had previously admitted that on November 27, at the James Bank Hostel, she assaulted a woman by seizing her by the body, pulling her down a set of stairs, causing her to fall to the ground; and punching her on the head repeatedly and scratching her on the head, all to her injury.

On November 24, at Debenhams in the Kingsgate, she also stole a quantity of fragrance.

Sheriff Alastair Brown agreed to defer sentencing for reports and a drug testing and treatment order.

He said: "I am hesitant about remanding you for this purpose because it is not really the point of a remand but in view of what has been said, I will do so. You will go to custody before the report is prepared."