A MAN who shoved his partner on to a sofa in front of a three-year-old child at a house in Helensburgh called the woman a “mug” as he hurled a stream of abuse at her.

But the insult was thrown back in Stephen Alderton’s face when he appeared in court for sentencing last week.

The 25-year-old appeared before Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill on February 11, having pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour.

Alderton admitted pushing his partner on the body and causing her to fall on to a sofa, repeatedly kicking doors, refusing to leave when asked, and placing the woman and the young girl in fear and alarm during the incident at a house in Buchanan Road on May 5 last year.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court was told that Alderton lost the plot after turning up at the house drunk – despite being warned by his partner not to do so – and demanding access to his tobacco.

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The procurator fiscal depute told Dumbarton Sheriff Court: “It became apparent that The accused was out, and was consuming alcohol.

“The witness [Alderton’s partner] advised the accused not to attend at the locus, but at approximately 6pm he did attend. It was clear he was under the influence of alcohol.

“The witness asked the accused to leave because she was upset. He said he had only returned to pick up his tobacco.

“The accused refused to leave and thereafter opened the living room window at the property before climbing in.

“Once within he became aggressive, describing the witness as a ‘s**t’ and a ‘cow’, as well as calling her a ‘mug’ and a ‘disgrace’.

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“He thereafter blamed the accused for his intoxicated state.

“The accused left the living room to attend further into the locus to collect his belongings; he then returned to the living room and began to kick the living room door and the kitchen door, causing slight damage to both.

“The witness continued to protest, and the accused pushed the witness on to a nearby sofa.

“The witness stated she was going to call the police, to which the accused replied ‘on you go, I don’t even care’, then referred to the witness as a ‘grass’.

The witness managed to push the accused out of the locus and to close the door.

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“Police were called, and on arriving at the locus the accused was traced, before being arrested and conveyed to the police station.

“He made admissions during the interview, stating ‘if she got assaulted you would f*****g know about it’.

“On being charged with the section 38 [threatening or abusive behaviour] offence, he replied ‘bulls**t’.”

Graeme Wright, defending, said he could “offer no explanation that justifies [Alderton’s] actions”, and told the court his client had “reached a point where he was not coping, and that makes him turn to other things, legal and illegal”.

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Referring to the contents of a background social work report on Alderton, Sheriff Gill said: “He’s 25, he gets £500 a month in benefits that we are all paying for, and it’s going towards drink and drugs.”

“He’s got no focus, no enthusiasm, no interest – all he’s doing is drinking and taking drugs. That is all self-imposed.”

Addressing Alderton directly, the sheriff said: “This seems to have been a frightening experience, not only for your partner but also for [the young girl]. “It’s all self-induced – you are taking drugs to excess, and drinking to excess.There is only one mug in this courtroom, and it’s you.”

Alderton, who has since moved from Helensburgh to Lennox Street in Renton, was placed on a community payback order which will see him supervised by social workers for 12 months.

He was also ordered to carry out 90 hours of unpaid work by August.

Sheriff Gill added: “You’re not going to get any second chances.”

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