A WHITECROOK man who put his partner into a state of terror on a number of occasions has been jailed for seven months.

Mark Burns, 50, of Meldrum Street, behaved in a threatening or abusive manner on July 23, this year, and put his partner in to a state of fear and alarm. The offence took place at her home in McCreery Street, Clydebank. He carried out a sustained reign of terror at her home in November.

He appeared for sentence this week at Dumbarton Sheriff Court having previously pleaded guilty to repeatedly striking the windows and doors of the house and demanding entry. The offence was aggravated by the fact it involved his partner.

Prosecutor Craig Wainwright said: “Burns and the woman have been in a relationship for two years. At 8.30pm on July 23 Burns returned to his partner’s home in an intoxicated state.

“She feared for her safety and locked the windows and doors. He started banging on the doors and was shouting and swearing. She shut the blinds, but he continued to bang on the windows and causing a disturbance.

“At 9.15pm he contacted the police and claimed he had been assaulted by her. They arrived and saw sitting at the front door. She asked for him to be removed. He was detained and taken to Clydebank police office, cautioned and charged and made no reply.

“On November 19 he and the woman were in the Station Bar, Yoker, together. They remained there for an hour before the woman left. He left 30 minutes later. At 3am on November 20, Burns was at her address. She let him in.

“An argument began and Burns called her a ‘s******’ and left. At 6am he returned. She heard him outside but because of her fear she did not allow him back in. He came back again at 9am and appeared to be drunk. He was loud and aggressive.

“He picked up a disused chair and threw it through a double glazed window. Police attended and he was detained.”

Defence lawyer Douglas McAllister said: “He has been in custody since November 22, when he first pleaded guilty to the offence. Sentence was deferred at the time for background reports to be prepared. Bail was refused.

“He stays with his niece in Whitecrook, but is currently subject to a community payback order in Glasgow.

“It is no excuse, but offers the explanation that the offences were committed while he was heavily under the influence of drink. He struggles with alcohol abuse. Despite that he has always been in employment.

“In short, this is his first experience of custody or remand. He is quite distressed. If it was designed to act as a wake up call it has certainly achieved that.”

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry jailed Burns for seven months for the November incident. It was reduced from nine months because of his early plea and sentence was backdated to November 22. Sentence was deferred on the other matter until April 11.

The sheriff said: “It may be possible in early April to deal with this other case by a non-custodial method.”