A MUM who took a photograph at her son’s High Court trial and later posted it on social media had her car torched in an apparent revenge attack, a court was told last week.

Dawn Reilly took a picture of Rhys Reynolds while he gave evidence against her son Kane Reilly, who was accused of attempting to murder him during an attack in Musselburgh in 2018.

The single mum-of-six then posted the image on her Facebook page and labelled Reynolds “a grass” for taking to the dock against her teenage son.

Reilly, 42, was immediately arrested for taking and publicly posting the illegal photo and was remanded in custody in August last year.

Following her arrest, it was claimed that David Clelland was paid £200 to set fire to Reilly’s car as it sat outside her home at Grange Crescent West in Prestonpans.

Clelland, of High Street, Cockenzie, admitted to the wilful fire-raising attack during an appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.

Prosecutor Anna Robertson told the court that Reilly parked her car “undamaged and secured” outside her home on August 14 last year.

She was then arrested and remanded for seven days for taking the image during her son’s High Court trial and posting it on Facebook.

Ms Robertson said that the fire service was subsequently informed that the vehicle was on fire at about 1.15am on August 19 last year.

Police searched local CCTV footage and Clelland, 38, was identified due to his distinctive trainers and he was arrested at his home two weeks later.

The court also heard that Reilly “was made aware of what had happened to her car” by her daughter.

Ms Robertson said that Clelland made no reply at the time of his arrest but when he was later arrested on another matter two days later, he stated “I set fire to Dawn Reilly’s car” and claimed “Rhys Reynolds paid me £200 for it”.

The fiscal added: “He was extremely forthcoming about why he set fire to the vehicle.”

Solicitor Angela Craig said that she would reserve her mitigation to the sentencing diet.

Sheriff John Mundy deferred sentence to December for social work reports to be prepared.

Clelland pleaded guilty to wilfully setting fire to a vehicle whereby it was completely destroyed at Grange Crescent West, Prestonpans, on August 19 last year.

Grandmother Dawn Reilly previously escaped a jail sentence for taking the High Court picture in August last year and was instead handed a 200-hour unpaid work order and placed on supervision for two years.

Kane Reilly, 18, and five other men were convicted of attempting to murder and assaulting Rhys Reynolds during the horror attack in Musselburgh on December 31, 2018.

The gang repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on him before one of the attackers dropped a rock or a slab on Reynold’s head as he lay injured at the town’s Delta Drive.

Reynolds suffered 36 separate injuries, including facial fractures and bleeding on the brain during the murder bid.

The six attackers were originally jailed for a total of 47 years in September last year but they all had their jail terms reduced on appeal.

Kane Reilly is currently serving six years for his part in the Hogmanay attack.