MOTHER-IN-LAW Ruby Smith escaped jail despite admitting making 'blood curdling' threats to kill her son-in-law - a top businessman.

Devoted mother Smith, 65, launched a telephone terror campaign as her daughter, award-winning businesswoman Jan Fletcher, went through an acrimonious divorce, a court heard.

A judge at Sheffield Crown Court gave Smith a two-year conditional discharge and ordered her to pay £476 costs.

Judge Peter Baker QC, said: "It involved bloodcurdling threats and telephone calls. You were involved in a matrimonial crisis situation at that time, you would not have committed these crimes if you were not."

An earlier hearing was told that during one night Smith made 32 long distance calls between 1am and 3am to her son-in-law Peter Fletcher, 60.

The court was told that Smith was devoted to her daughter Jan Fletcher who is the director of several businesses including Scarborough's Bee Health company and owns car dealerships in Yorkshire.

Jan Fletcher was British Businesswoman of the Year in 1994 and was awarded the OBE in 1997 for services to business.

The court was told that Peter Fletcher was targeted as well as his son, Nigel, and future wife Melissa, as Smith made more than 70 calls.

Smith, of Millfield Drive, Hopeman, Elgin, Scotland, admitted three offences of threats to kill and two of making nuisance calls.

Jeremy Hill-Baker, prosecuting, said that during a two-week period Smith repeatedly threatened to kill the two men and regularly rang them at night.

Mr Hill-Baker said most of the calls had obscene content and they were traced to Smith's address in Scotland.

He said: "Sometimes there was music playing and at one point Smith was heard shouting over the strains of the National Anthem: 'You're dead, you're dead, I'll have you."

Jonathan Devlin, defending, said Smith had decided to intervene because Peter and Jan Fletcher were going through a particularly acrimonious divorce.

She had realised she should not have acted the way she did and had not made any more calls since she was arrested in the summer of 1997.

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