The decision to prosecute Leanne McConnachie involved a court hearing presided over by Sheriff Graeme Fleming, with a procurator fiscal, a sheriff clerk, a court officer and a police constable.
Ironically, the accused didn’t bother turning up at Livingston Sheriff Court yesterday and was fined £40 in her absence.
The sheriff pointed out that taxpayers were picking up the bill. He asked: “What’s the cost to the public purse of bringing this case to court?”