SPECIALIST police negotiators, firearms officers and a dog unit had to be called after a Whitecrook man barricaded himself inside the bedroom of his Whitecrook home.

The man responsible, Peter McKinlay, was ordered to carry out unpaid community work this week after a sheriff admitted there was no way to fully recoup the cost of deploying so many police officers to the incident.

McKinlay, 40, appeared in court for sentencing on Thursday after pleading guilty to a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour in Brown Avenue in the early hours of October 28.

Fiscal depute Carol Cameron told Dumbarton Sheriff Court that the circumstances of the case were “somewhat unusual”.

She said: “At about half past midnight the accused was at home at the locus. He effectively barricaded himself in the bedroom, believing there was someone else in the house.

“He shouted to attract neighbours’ attention, and a neighbour called the police.

“Officers attended and spoke to the accused from his bedroom. This went on for about ten minutes.

“Other police attended and attempted to talk to the accused, but he refused to open the door unless his mother attended to speak to him.

“He said the first person through the door would ‘get it’. Due to this, the safety of the accused and members of the public was of concern.

“Negotiators, firearms officers and a dog unit were despatched to the scene and the local public order unit deployed.

“Police continued talking to the accused. This went on for about one hour.

“His behaviour became more erratic. He was shouting, swearing and banging on doors.

“At 3.20am police were able to talk the accused down. He opened the door and was met by public order officers who handcuffed him.”

McKinlay’s solicitor, Phil Lafferty, said Ms Cameron’s use of the word “unusual” to describe events “doesn’t quite do the incident justice”.

Mr Lafferty said: “I would say bizarre and extreme. It appears to have been the product of his intoxicated state, mixed with the paranoia and anxiety he appears to be suffering from.

“It all presented in quite an extreme way – I accept that, and so does he.”

Mr Lafferty said McKinlay’s record was “not minor” but had recently only featured offences for which he had been fined.

He added: “I would submit that his circumstances are such that he would be ripe for intervention of some kind.”

Sheriff William Gallacher said a sentence including unpaid work would be “a means to give back some tangible recompense for the huge resources devoted to dealing with this situation”.

The sheriff told McKinlay: “This was very extreme behaviour. Unusual. Bizarre. But the details were troubling for the people who had to deal with it.

“It’s not acceptable. Had your record been more recent I would have sent you to prison, but I’m satisfied something else would benefit you and the community.”

McKinlay was told to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work within ten months and placed on social work supervision for 15 months, with a requirement to attend alcohol counselling whenever required by his supervisor. The sheriff added: “It’s a straightforward alternative to custody. If you do not comply, the only other option is to send you to prison.”

A review hearing was fixed for June 30.