AN ALEXANDRIA man broke into a home in Bonhill while the woman living there was asleep, in a drunken bid to track down a friend – without realising the friend had died a month previously.

Jamie McGrogan later described his actions as “the worst thing he's ever done in his life”.

McGrogan, 29, urinated against a parked car in Redburn in the early hours of October 28 before repeatedly kicking and striking the front door of a property in the street, shouting, swearing, and placing the householder in a state of fear and alarm.

And McGrogan then went on to break into the property and assault the householder by seizing her on the body and struggling violently with her as she screamed at him to leave.

McGrogan appeared for sentencing at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week after pleading guilty to two charges at an earlier hearing.

Fiscal depute Scott Simpson told the April 25 court hearing: “The deceased partner of the complainer may have been known to the accused – his name was Alan Gilmartin, and the accused was heard shouting 'Alan'.

“He was kicking the door. He received no reply. The accused struck the door to make his presence known. The complainer was clearly disturbed by this.

“She heard footsteps coming up the stairs, the bedroom door opened, and the accused entered.

“She screamed at th eaccused to leave and told the accused she was contacting police.

“There was a bit of a scuffle when the accused was attempting to remove a phone from the complainer.”

The woman pushed her way past McGrogan and went outside, where police were waiting; officers entered the property and, according to Mr Simpson, “found the accused extremely drunk”.

McGrogan shouted and swore at the officers, who arrested him before taking him to Clydebank police office.

Haseeb Hassan, defending, said McGrogan, who was listed in court papers as living at another property in Redburn, did not remember assaulting the woman, but did not deny doing it.

Mr Hassan said: “The accused wasn't aware that this friend, Alan, had passed away.

“He had spotted a smashed window at his old friend's tenancy. In his mind at the time, he wanted to know the safety of his friend, who he learned only later was deceased.

“He understands the difficulty the victim would have had and her fear and alarm at such a situation. He has no previous convictions for breaking into property or for assault. He is apologetic and remorseful.”

Mr Hassan said his client, who was the victim of a stabbing in 2011, suffered from depression and anxiety but hat taken steps since the incident to get his life back in order.

He added: “This was out of character and something which he describes as the worst thing he's ever done in his life.”

Sheriff Thomas McCartney told McGrogan to carry out 250 hours of unpaid community work within nine months and placed him under social work supervision until October 2018.

The sheriff told McGrogan: “It is absolutely essential that you comply with the order. I will fix a review hearing in July, and at that hearing I will have a report as to your compliance with the order. For the avoidance of doubt, if the information I had today was that you were not fit to carry out an unpaid work order you would be sent to prison today.”

The review of the order will take place on July 10.