THE family of a former soldier reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder was told by his GP to call police to help him get hospital assistance, a court has heard.

Christopher Boyle, who was said to have served in Afghanistan, was arrested in 2020 and 2021 for his abusive behaviour.

But his defence solicitor told Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week that it did not get Boyle the medical intervention he needed.

The 31-year-old, who was also said to have an alcohol problem, was not banned from drinking by a sheriff because that was “setting him up to fail”.

Boyle appeared from custody on July 13 after previously admitting repeatedly shouting, swearing, acting in an aggressive manner and uttering threats of violence to police on November 13.

He also admitted shouting and swearing, acting in an aggressive manner and refusing to desist on April 11 and June 20 this year. He also uttered a racist remark on April 11.

At the time, he had bail orders from November 16, December 21 and two bail orders on March 26.

On November 13, 2020, police were asked to attend at Fullers Gate, Faifley, where Boyle was causing a disturbance. Police were asked to remove him.

Boyle began shouting and swearing, stating: “I’m going to go f***ing mental if you c**** try to put me in a cell.”

He was arrested and taken to Clydebank police office but was not charged because of his intoxication.

The court was told that at 3pm on April 11 this year, police again responded to reports of a disturbance and saw Boyle walking away from a shop in Duntreath Avenue, Drumchapel.

Boyle began to shout and swear and said, “You f***ing P***s” and was arrested.

At 4pm on June 20, Boyle’s family contacted police reporting that he was behaving erratically and was heavily intoxicated. Police arrived at the property in Lennox Drive, Faifley, and observed the same, but were told to “f*** off” by Boyle.

He continued to shout and swear even after he was asked to stop. Boyle was arrested and taken to Clydebank police office where he continued to be abusive, including calling cops “paedos”.

Defence solicitor Brian McGuire said his client had served in the army in Afghanistan and had PTSD.

He said: “Last October it became so bad he knew he required some medical assistance.

“He went to hospitals on a fairly regular basis in October and November, but was not deemed bad enough.

“After a month of asking for assistance, he was taken to hospital and kept at Gartnavel for a month. His family thought things were going in the right direction. But things started to deteriorate again.

“At every turn, he was turned away.

“Family have been advised by a GP that the way to deal with this is to call police. It’s not as simple as that.

“They called police, he was annoyed. Some [of his abuse] was directed not at police but at his sisters, who phoned police in the first place.”

Sheriff Hugh McGinty said Boyle’s racist language was “never acceptable”.

But he decided against a jail sentence and imposed a community payback order with 18 months of supervision by social workers. Boyle must engage with mental health and addiction services as directed.

He must also do 140 hours of unpaid work within 12 months. His progress will be reviewed in October.