A 48-year-old man who hurled homophobic remarks at a lesbian couple has been fined.

Robert Kreslins behaved in a threatening and abusive manner towards the women near his home in Kilbirnie.

The court heard that the couple were walking their dog in the early hours of February 4. They returned home at 1.45am and heard Kreslins in their close.

They found him at their front door and he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The two women attempted to ignore Kreslins but he became abusive towards them and started shouting, calling them lesbians.

The procurator fiscal told the court: “They were alarmed by this and asked him to leave.”

Kreslins refused to go and told the women to “f*** off”.

The couple contacted police, prompting Kreslins to eventually leave the area.

Kreslins was later traced by officers at his home address in Bank Street and was arrested.

Solicitor Colin McLaughlin said that his client had “intellectual difficulties”. He also said that Kreslins knew one of the women well and that there had never been problems between the pair before.

He stressed that Kreslins had been drinking and that when the women found him in their close he had been looking for a friend he had been with earlier.

Mr McLaughlin added: “He had been at a couple of different addresses trying to locate this person. More drink was taken. His recollection is particularly poor to say the least.

“Through my dealings with him over the last few months, he seems not to be someone who has views such as these [homophobic]. It appears to have been drunken, boorish behaviour.”

Sheriff Alistair Watson said: “Mr Kreslins, I see that last year you were caught with a knife and you ended up in prison? Well, I don’t know how you liked that experience in prison but do that again and you will go back there.”

Kreslins was fined £370, reduced form £400 due to his guilty plea.