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.

"Late in the evening of May 11," Ms Healing said, "the accused attended the complainer's home. She asked him to leave.

"He begged to be let in, claiming he had missed his last train home.

"The complainer said he would not be allowed access and again asked him to leave. He said he had nowhere else to go and that he would sleep outside her house."

That prompted the woman to call the police, who attended and took Cunningham back to his mother's home in Whiteinch, warning him on the way that he should stop trying to contact her.

But Cunningham ignored the warnings and kept contacting the woman until the end of the month, eventually asking her on May 31 whether the relationship "was over for now or for good".

Ms Healing said: "The complainer did not reply. The accused texted her to say he assumed it was for good, and said she wouldn't have to worry about him soon.

"This caused the complainer alarm; she thought it might be a reference to the accused intending to do himself harm."

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Cunningham, the court heard, then sent the woman an image of a rope tied in the shape of a noose hanging from a tree, followed by the message "I hope you got that".

Later that day, Ms Healing said, a water bailiff patrolling the banks of the River Leven near Vale of Leven Football Club's ground was alerted by a member of the public to a man who was tying a rope to a tree.

Police were called and Cunningham was found both by the bailiff and by his ex, who was said to be "frantically searching for the accused".

He was arrested and taken to Clydebank police office before being interviewed, cautioned and charged.

Gary Miller, defending, said: "The reason that this state of affairs came about was that there was an accusation made by the complainer towards Mr Cunningham that he was maintaining a relationship with his ex-partner, and that he was the father of her unborn child.

"This greatly panicked him; he is adamant it was untrue, and he feared he was going to lose his relationship because of something that was completely fabricated.

"He does accept that this behaviour was completely unacceptable, and he can see in particular that the sending of the photograph would be very disturbing."

Sheriff William Gallacher said: "He's a self-centred, entirely selfish, wanton individual who was only interested in exerting his own influence to get what he wanted. It's a shameful offence."

Addressing Cunningham directly, the sheriff said: "I think your behaviour was despicable. Your unwanted and unfettered persistent demands that you get from her what you wanted were entirely unacceptable.

"To then seek to further create an environment where you run the risk of causing harm, to quite blatantly manipulate her further, is utterly deplorable.

"You were the only one that mattered. That will not do."

Cunningham was handed a community payback order with two years of social work supervision.

He was also told to do 180 hours of unpaid work within six months, and was banned from having any contact with his ex for five years.

Sheriff Gallacher added: "If you do not comply I will not have a second's hesitation in sending you to prison."