Women convicted after smearing jam on bust of Queen Victoria

Two protesters who smeared jam and porridge over a bust of Queen Victoria have been convicted of malicious mischief.

Sarah Martin, 30, and Hannah Taylor, 24, carried out what they described as a demonstration against rising food insecurity at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in March.

The pair, activists for campaign group This is Rigged, also spray-painted an offensive word on the plinth of the statue.

An area of the museum was shut for several hours as a result. The charity Glasgow Life, which runs the museum, had to pay about £600 to repair the statue and its plinth.

Martin and Taylor were found guilty of a charge of malicious mischief following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

The pair, who represented themselves, were found not guilty to a separate charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

In a video of the protest played to the trial, Martin is heard to say: "We refuse to be dragged back to the Victorian era."

Museum gallery assistant Michael Barr told the court the bust had been a permanent fixture at the museum for more than 30 years.

He said of the protest: "They shouldn't be doing it, this belongs to the city and they could have damaged it."

Martin told the court in her closing submission: "Mr Barr states that the bust belongs to Glasgow, I am a citizen of Glasgow and I am interacting with it as necessary.

"I was forced into taking action and I took no reckless or thoughtless action - I sought to express my rights to protest."

Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month. Both women had their bail continued in the meantime.