Jealous offender pestered former partner and then crashed his car in Stenhousemuir

Scott Bell, 32, knew he was not supposed to contact the woman and also knew he was not supposed to be driving.

Bell appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday having pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention without a licence and while he was banned in King Street, Stenhousemuir, on October 21 last year.

He also admitted breaching his bail conditions by contacting his former partner between October 21 and October 22 last year.

Procurator fiscal depute Rachel Hill said: “The complainer and the accused were in an on/off relationship from 2016 to 2022 and had one child together. At 9.20pm the complainer received phone call from the accused.

"She told him not to contact her again or she would call the police. He said if she had any respect for him she would tell him if she had moved on with ‘this new boy’, adding ‘if you’ve moved on I can just forget it all’.

"He said ‘I’m asking you a serious question – I love you’. The complainer then contacted the police.”

The woman then received 30 calls from him between 9.30pm and 11.30pm that she did not answer.

Unknown to the former partner, Bell then got in his car and drove to Stenhousemuir – however, the journey there did not go as planned.

“It was 9.15pm and witnesses were in King Street,” said the procurator fiscal depute. “They saw a blue motor vehicle driving around the bend at excessive speed. losing control and crashing into some bushes.

"They saw the accused jumping out of the driver’s side and running off from the location.”

A short time later Bell showed up at the home of his former partner’s mother.

"The accused let himself into the property saying he had crashed a vehicle in the Stenhousemuir area. he asked the complainer’s mother if she could give him a lift home.”

He then got the mother to contact her daughter and he subsequently sent text messages begging her not to contact the police saying he was in “enough bother”.

The mother then dropped him off at his home address – on the way he pointed out the car he had crashed.

Lynn Swan, defence solicitor, said: “It was utterly stupidity on his part that he got behind the wheel. He was feeling jealous after he was made aware there was a man on the scene.

"He should have left well enough alone.”

Sheriff Simon Collins placed Bell, 11 Westquarter Avenue, Westquarter, on a supervised community payback order for two years with the condition he engage with the Caledonian domestic abuse programme in that time and complete 245 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.

He was also banned from driving for 21 months and made subject to a non-harassment order not to have any contact with his former partner for three years.