A FAIFLEY man threatened to take his family hostage and to set fire to their home in the town in a row over money for a Christmas present.

Martin Ross brandished a kitchen knife and cut the wire to the house telephone in a bid to stop police being contacted about his terrifying outburst.

Ross, 24, was thrown out of the property in Watchmeal Crescent after the row with his mother and sister on December 12 and, according to his solicitor, has been told he isn’t welcome back.

Ross, of no fixed abode, appeared from custody for sentencing on January 12, when the presiding sheriff described his behaviour as “disgraceful”.

Fiscal depute Alasdair Shaw said Ross had told his sister that he didn’t have money promised to her to pay for a Christmas present, and that she would just have to cover it.

Mr Shaw said: “This escalated into an argument. Both parties refused to concede. The accused’s sister said ‘you’ll just have to move out’, and he replied: ‘I’ll kick your c*** in’.”

Mr Shaw said Ross had punched his sister repeatedly on the arm as she shielded her face from him – and on being told by his mother that ‘she could get you charged for this’, he went to the kitchen and brought back a blue-handled kitchen knife, which he waved around towards them.

“The accused threatened to tie them up and keep them hostage,” Mr Shaw continued, “then stated he was going to cut the house phone wires to prevent them contacting the police, which he proceeded to do.

“The accused’s mother told him he had gone too far, and the accused then punched his mother.

“While this was going on, his sister managed to slip past the accused and get out to the common close, where a neighbour took her in.

“The accused’s mother was then able to escape and was also taken in by the neighbour before police were called.

“The accused was traced and taken to Clydebank police office, and at the charge bar he threatened to return to the house and set it on fire.”

Ross had previously pleaded guilty to charges of threatening his mother and sister with violence, cutting the telephone cable, assaulting them both, threatening to set the house on fire and lashing out while struggling violently with police.

Ross’s solicitor told the court his client had trouble sleeping, and had taken illicit Valium alongside prescribed tablets to deal with the condition.

“Prior to this incident he had been sleeping,” the agent told the court.

He has very little recollection of his actions but he accepts his behaviour was reprehensible.

“He has apologised to his sister and repaired the relationship as best he can, but his mother does not wish to see him. He wants to apologise but accepts it is not something he can initiate.

“He wishes to apologise to the court and to all individuals concerned.

“He has been identified as being at a high risk of reoffending but there is no evidence he is a risk to the general public. His offending is limited to those who are close to him and known to him.”

The agent also said a friend had agreed to allow Ross to stay at her home for a short spell in the event of his being released on bail, but Sheriff William Gallacher said he had “considerable hesitation” about whether Ross was an appropriate person to be living at that address.

Sheriff Gallacher, hinting that the serious nature of the charges might have merited more than a summary complaint, also said the “choice of forum” for hearing the case made the sentencing options “very limited indeed”.

Deferring sentence for a week to allow Ross’s agent to investigate a potential alternative bail address, Sheriff Gallacher said his behaviour was “not unexpected, given his past criminal history”.

The sheriff told Ross: “These offences are disgraceful. Behaviour like this towards your family is incomprehensible. I don’t know if I can do anything other than impose on you the maximum custodial sentence possible on a summary complaint.”