A Perth man bombarded his girlfriend with a volley of menacing phone calls and text messages after she refused to let him ride his bike while drunk.
Paul Scobie, 51, got into an argument with his partner after drinking through the night.
When he went to his shed to cycle away, she told him he needed to sober up before he got on the saddle.
Later that evening, she received nearly 60 texts and several threatening phone calls from him.
He told her he would destroy her home, and take a hammer to the bicycle “until there was nothing left.”
Scobie appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted making repeated offensive remarks and threats of violence in a series of messages and calls on August 1, last year.
Sheriff Euan Duthie told him: “You have recognised how unacceptable your behaviour was that day, albeit you have no recollection of it.”
Ordering Scobie to undertake 60 hours of unpaid work, the sheriff said: “This is a punishment that requires you to pay back to the community and I’m satisfied this offence was serious enough to warrant such an order, given the impact it had on the complainer.”
Scobie was also ordered to stay away from his now-ex-partner for one year.
“This is necessary to prevent further offending,” said the sheriff.
Threat to cause ‘as much damage as possible’
Scobie, of Strathtay Road, pleaded guilty to sending messages and making phone calls to his ex-partner that were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.
He also admitted a breach of court order banning him from approaching her.
Fiscal depute Emma Farmer said: “The accused and the complainer had been in a relationship for about three-and-a-half years.
“The threats were to the extent that he advised he was going to cause as much damage as possible to the complainer’s address.”
Scobie called his partner a “f***ing whore” and told her he was going to “hammer a bike until there was nothing left”.
Ms Farmer said: “There was repeated calls of a similar nature that caused the complainer to contact the police.
“The accused was later caution and charged.”
Relationship was over
Solicitor Paul Ralph said: “The reference to hammering a bike maybe gives you an idea of the kind of messages he was sending.
“That morning there was an argument because Mr Scobie had been drinking through the night, the night before.
“He left the house and was going to take his bike out of the shed.
“His partner at the time told him he would have to be sober to take his bike.”
He added: “In the future, they will remain friends but the relationship is well and truly over.”
