A young man who assaulted his girlfriend and refused to let her leave the house has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.

The 22-year-old, who we have not named in order to protect the identity of the victim, previously pled guilty at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court to two charges. He returned to the court last week for sentencing following social work reports.

On April 8, the man seized his girlfriend by the body at his then-address in Beith. He also behaved in a threatening or abusive manner in that he repeatedly shouted, swore, seized a mobile phone from the woman and refused to allow her to leave the house.

Last week at court, defence lawyer Peter Murray described the social work report which had been carried out on his client as “very positive”. He also highlighted that the complainer and his client had since resumed their relationship and were expecting a baby.

Mr Murray added: “He had been in the relationship for two years and they want to reconcile. There’s also the fact that she’s currently pregnant with their first child and due to give birth on October 12.

“It’s no excuse at all for his behaviour but he had far too much to drink. His behaviour was on the whole disgraceful and he’s utterly ashamed. He has stayed away from alcohol since this offence five months ago. There has been no repetition of this behaviour.

“He has a record. His last conviction dates back three years ago. There was an issue with a Community Payback Order. That was breached due to his non-attendance. It was because of bullying in his work place and that was accepted by the court. He can be trusted now to comply with a CPO disposal.

“They are not of a domestic nature, his previous offences. There have been no previous reported incidents of domestic violence. The report seems to be fairly positive. He has been assessed as low risk [of reoffending]. There are no other matters outstanding and he is in good full-time employment.”

Sheriff Michael Hanlon told the 22-year-old: “Your behaviour was completely unacceptable.

“I’ve taken into account what’s been said on your behalf. I’m going to take a step back from a custodial sentence. Since you have a child on the way I really hope you change your behaviour accordingly.”

The man was given a Community Payback Order of 180 hours of unpaid work to be carried out within six months.