The town’s sheriff court heard Keiron Bradley, 36, had been drinking at his home on Bellsmyre Avenue when he got into an argument about the wardrobe door.

He then slapped his wife on the face, causing her glasses to fly off and land next to the Christmas tree.

A teenager and a young child were in the home at the time of the offence, on December 22 last year shortly after 9.30pm.

Bradley’s wife was ‘tearful’ after the assault and police were later called.

The court heard Bradley had been in a relationship with his wife for nearly 20 years and he was ‘extremely upset’ about the effect the incident had on his family.

He was described as a ‘binge drinker’ who could go weeks without drinking then would could drink a bottle of spirits in a night.

The court was told Bradley and his wife were taking steps towards getting back together and he wanted to change his drinking behaviour.

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry told Bradley: “It seems very likely to me that if your alcohol problem is not fully addressed it is likely there will be a repeat of this type of behaviour.” He deferred sentence until July for Bradley to be of good behaviour.