A TEENAGER was branded a "cave man" by a sheriff for dragging his then 16-year-old girlfriend up the street in Rosneath.

Sheriff William Gallacher questioned how Fraser Smith, 19, could think this was the proper way to behave when the youth appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week.

The court heard how Smith, now living in Lochgilphead, had been in a relationship with his girlfriend since last August.

On April 23, they were consuming alcohol with friends when Smith became angry and the girlfriend ran off. When Smith found her, he shouted, "Get back up the road."

A passing witness asked Smith to calm down but he continued shouting and swearing. He approached his partner and began dragging her along the ground towards his flat, then in Ferry Road, Rosneath.

The girl was screaming "let go of me" and eventually managed to escape and ran to a friend's house, banging on the door to be let in. Once inside, Smith turned up and the homeowner managed to calm him down.

Police caught up with him the next day climbing out of a window.

Smith's defence solicitor said his client had been trying to persuade his partner to continue the relationship.

Sheriff Gallacher interrupted, pointing out Smith behaved as a "cave man dragging her along the road".

He said: "A young man in relation to an even younger girl and he thinks that's the way to behave?"

The solicitor replied: "There's still some hope for Mr Smith. His live a fairly chaotic lifestyle. He is making efforts to distance himself from this area. He is in another relationship."

Sheriff Gallacher, saying this was Smith's last chance, sentenced him to a community payback order with 18 months of supervision and 180 hours of unpaid work in the community.

He said: "You're a young man with frankly bizarre perspectives of how you will behave. It's a close call - I don't require to send you to prison.

"Your behaviour is unacceptable. Your approach in life is, at best, naive."