Forfar man held girlfriend’s mobile over loo in house row

A young Forfar man who dangled his girlfriend’s mobile phone over the toilet bowl in a row over money has been ordered by a sheriff to undergo relationship counselling.

Nathan Hayes went in the huff when his partner took him to task about cash he had been due to hand over for the deposit of a flat they shared.

Forfar Sheriff Court heard how the 21-year-old, of the town’s Pitreuchie Place, got into an argument with his girlfriend just after noon on February 6.

Depute fiscal Jill Drummond said: “He picked up her mobile phone which had been charging on the bedside table, went to the bathroom and hovered it over the toilet as if he was going to drop it.

“He then threw it to the ground before kicking it in the direction of the living room. She recovered it from behind the television and noticed slight damage,” added the fiscal.

Hayes then went into the bedroom and began to remove items and as he walked out of the room pushed the girl, causing her to stumble backwards into the wall.

The victim called her sister to tell her about the argument, who in turn phoned their mother and police were called.

Hayes, who admitted a charge of assault, was fully cooperative with officers when they arrived, telling them: “I only pushed her.”

Defence solicitor Brian Bell said: “Since this offence she has moved back to her parents’ address.

“He wants the relationship to resume, but the court will be concerned that nothing like this starts up again.”

Sheriff Jillian Martin-brown imposed a 12-month community payback order as an alternative to custody.