31-year-old nursery nurse, Nadia Feldmeier, and her 56-year-old mother, Eleanor Feldmeier, both of Port Road East, were given a conditional discharge and made the subject of a restraining order by district judge Richard Williams.

The court heard how the two women held a protest outside Llandough Hospital between November 2005 and December 2006, during which they displayed a banner accusing Dr Joseph Gray of dishonesty and professional negligence and Dr Colin Gelder of being a thug.

Both consultants had treated Ruth Stillman, the mother of Eleanor Feldmeier.

Ms Stillman died in 2005.

Dr Joseph Gray, a geriatrician, told the court of the distress the banners had caused him as they were displayed in full view of colleagues, patients and medical students.

He said: "It was extremely stressful having to face these wrongful allegations made against me with no means of redress and putting my point of view over to the public. It was never-ending."

The Feldmeiers began their protest after exhausting the official complaints procedures of the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust and the General Medical Council.

In November 2006, the Feldmeiers received a formal warning from the police who told them they risked prosecution for harassment if they continued their actions.

The court heard that the Feldmeiers believed their protest was legal under the Freedom of Expression granted by the Human Rights Act.

Nadia Feldmeier told the court: "My grandmother suffered neglect and abuse."

Richard Williams, the district judge, said that the allegations made during the protest clearly amounted to harassment.

Under the conditions of the restraining order the pair must not display any signs referring to the consultants or communicate any message in any public place suggesting that the doctors abused anyone or had been dishonest.