A MAN who spent more than three weeks pestering his ex after she ended their relationship has been slammed by a judge after he threatened to take his own life unless she took him back.

Scott Cunningham contacted the woman more than 200 times a day after she broke off their relationship in May.

His pleas reached a climax when he sent her a picture of a rope tied in the shape of a noose and said she “wouldn’t have to worry about him soon”.

Cunningham, 43, was sentenced at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Friday after pleading guilty to engaging in a course of conduct which was abusive of his ex-partner between May 5 and 31 this year in Main Street in Renton and elsewhere.

Fiscal depute Sarah Healing told the court that Cunningham, now of Medwyn Street in Whiteinch, initially contacted the woman more than 40 times a day by phone, text and Facebook message after she ended the relationship on May 5.

But after a week had passed, Ms Healing said, Cunningham’s behaviour escalated to a point where he was contacting her more than 200 times each day.

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Gary Miller, defending, said: “He does accept that this behaviour was completely unacceptable.”

Addressing Cunningham directly, the Sheriff Gallacher said: “I think your behaviour was despicable.”

Cunningham was handed a community payback order with two years of social work supervision, was told to do 180 hours of unpaid work within six months, and was banned from having any contact with his ex for five years.

The Sheriff warned Cunningham he wouldn’t hesitate to jail him if he failed to comply.