Chef trashed house during ouburst

A chef trashed his girlfriend’s house in Crieff during a violent outburst just three months after he had been freed from a jail term.

During the terrifying episode, 25-year-old Graham Paterson, formerly of Commissioner Street, Crieff, lost the plot and repeatedly threw bottles around, smashing them.

He also punched, smashed, kicked and destroyed furnishings before launching a tirade of abuse at partner Annabelle Brooks.

He shouted and swore at her, made offensive remarks and threatened her with violence, Perth Sheriff Court was told.

He admitted the catalogue of destruction which took place at a house in Hebridean Gardens, Crieff, on February 25, 2017.

A not guilty plea was accepted, however, to a second charge of attacking the female by seizing her by the body, pushing her, causing her to fall over a chair and hit her head, resulting in her losing consciousness.

It had also been alleged that he then spat on her and forcibly pushed her head against the carpet, all to her injury.

Solicitor Jamie Baxter asked the sheriff to consider imposing a community-based sentence, pointing out that his client’s rate of offending had decreased.

A background report had recommended a Community Payback Order - and the accused had been assessed as being suitable to take part in the Caledonian Men’s Project, which pursued an integrated approach to addressing domestic abuse problems.

Mr Baxter pointed out that the programme lasted 24 months and would require the accused to attend weekly appointments.

“He’s well aware of the amount of time and involvement that would take.”

The accused had been working at the Mhor 84 Motel in Balquidder as a chef but had now gained a similar position at the Clachaig Hotel in Glencoe.

Sheriff LIndsay Foulis said it had been“touch and go”whether he imposed a jail sentence - or a Community Payback Order.

He told the accused:“Your behaviour on the night in question was thoroughly objectionable and this is a serious offence.”

He noted that Paterson had been freed from prison in November of 2016 and three months later he was acting in the manner described in the first charge.

But he ordered the accused to complete 250 hours of unpaid work in the next nine months and take part in the domestic violence programme.

In addition, he will be supervised by a social worker for the next 30 months.

The accused was warned, however, that if he didn’t engage with the project - or became involved in any further offending, whether in or out of a domestic context - he would end up in prison, as far as Sheriff Foulis was concerned.