A disgraceful mother who is the partner of a convicted killer abandoned two young children in a car for half an hour while she went shopping.
Margaret Rooney, who left the keys in the ignition and the engine running, then lost the plot when worried passers-by called the police.
The selfish mum-of-six is the partner of Christopher O’Shea who was jailed last year for the brutal knife murder of Craig McSporran, the Daily Record reports.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard Rooney, 32, left the vehicle in a car next to an Iceland store in Church Street, Johnstone on April 8 last year.
She then wandered off leaving the children – aged two and six – on their own.
When the occupants of another car discovered the kids were alone they became concerned.
They tried to comfort one of the children who was crying and stayed by the vehicle for 10 minutes in the hope the driver would return.
But when another motorist pulled up and was told what had happened they decided to raise the alarm.
Rooney returned to her car before officers arrived and became upset when she found out that police were on their way.
The witnesses told her they didn’t want to wait for officers to arrive and left the scene.
Police later tracked down Rooney and questioned her about the incident before deciding to caution and charge her.
When shamefaced Rooney appeared in the dock on Tuesday, she admitted wilfully abandoning and exposing the children in a manner that was likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health by leaving them unsupervised in a car with its engine running for 30 minutes.
Rooney, of Linwood, also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, likely to cause fear and alarm, by shouting, swearing and acting aggressively on the same occasion.
Sheriff Tom McCartney told her the matter was so serious he would have to call for background reports before deciding her fate.
She will be sentenced next month.
Last year Rooney appeared in court in Paisley as a witness as her partner, Christopher O’Shea, went on trial for the murder of Linwood man Craig McSporran.
The attack was so savage that when police arrived at the scene they could see the victim’s organs.
O’Shea denied stabbing Mr McSporran to death in Bridge Street, Linwood in the early hours of July 8, 2013, but was found guilty by a jury.
He was also convicted of trying to murder the victim’s friend, Derek MacNeil, in the knife attack.
O’Shea was jailed for a minimum of 18 years for the murder and was also handed a concurrent sentence of 10 years for the attempted murder of Mr MacNeil.
His appeal against the sentence was booted out of court in December.
The court heard O’Shea and Rooney started a relationship in 2010 and had two children together.
Rooney also has four children from two previous relationships.