A BEST-SELLING author was forced to tell her son's teachers to keep him in at break time because she was worried her former partner planned to snatch him, a court has been told.

Janice Galloway was so concerned about the prospect of pianist Graeme McNaught attending the school to try to take him that she told staff to keep their son, James, in at lunchtime, a friend of the writer told Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday.

It came after a custody battle between Mr McNaught and the author of novels such as The Trick is to Keep Breathing, Foreign Parts and Blood.

Council manager Alison Cameron, 59, who lives with Miss Galloway and her husband Jonathan May, 53, told jurors the move came because of previous incidents involving Mr McNaught, 54, a classical pianist, which had left Miss Galloway terrified.

The evidence was heard at the trial of Mr McNaught, who has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of placing his former partner in a state of fear and alarm.

Ms Cameron said: "There had been an incident in 1997 where Graeme turned up to the house in a very distressed state and the next day we had to take action.

"We went to the school and told them to keep James in at break because there was a fear that Graeme would snatch him."

The trial also heard that Ms Galloway, 58, planned to take her son James to Spain but had to be given the go-ahead because of her dispute with Mr McNaught, of Mount Vernon, Glasgow.

The pair met in 1990 and had a six year on-off relationship during which time James, now 22, who is based in London as a graphic designer was born. He is their only child.

Ms Cameron, of Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, told the court: "In October 1997 we were all shocked when sheriff officers turned up at the door with a letter telling her to go to court in Edinburgh. It was for a custody case that he had brought against her. He alleged that she was trying to take their son out of the country.

"We had arranged a holiday to get away in January 1998 and she had to go to the High Court in Edinburgh to get permission for us to go away on holiday.

"The next year was spent trying to fight a case where he was saying she was mentally ill and that she was an unfit mother, he wanted to remove James from her."

Ms Cameron said after Mr McNaught's custody action failed he was granted access to James, which was initially supervised. During this time, the witness said she took James to see his father because "Janice was terrified of Graeme".

She added: "This all started in 1996, went on all the way through 1997 and a good bit into 1998, it seemed to go on forever. It was terrible."

The trial had earlier heard James claim his father had launched a legal bid to have a piano he had given him for a birthday present returned to him.

He said he was given the piano as a present for his fourth birthday but refused to give it back.

James alleged he had been involved in a stand-off with his father in 2011 when he arrived uninvited at Miss Galloway's home. During this time, the son said he overheard the author's husband, telling Mr McNaught forcefully to leave.

The trial before Sheriff Ray Small continues.