A DUNFERMLINE man told his partner that he would lock her in the house and set fire to it.

The woman was “terrified” by the threat made by Oskar Kirkwood, Dunfermline Sheriff Court was told.

Kirkwood, 35, of Kinnaird Place, admitted that on November 11 at his home he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by repeatedly shouting and demanding alcohol from his partner.

He made a threat to lock her in the house and set it on fire, placing her in a state of fear and alarm.

Depute fiscal Dev Kapadia said the couple had been together for four years but latterly the accused had been suffering from depression and was drinking more.

“It had got to the stage where he would rarely leave the house unless it was to purchase alcohol, which obviously became a source of discontent in the relationship,” said the depute.

“On this morning, the complainer was getting ready to leave for work. There was a discussion about whether she should be working and there was a difference of opinion about this.

“She told him if he didn’t allow her to live her life she would leave him. The accused became upset and started shouting. He told her to get wine for him.

“She started putting her belongings in a bag. He said he would lock the doors to prevent her from leaving and then set the house on fire.

“She started panicking and became terrified about him carrying out the threat. He was already drinking at 10.30 in the morning.”

However, he then left the house and the woman phoned her father to tell her what had happened.

When Kirkwood returned home after 40 minutes he had calmed down. However, the fire threat came to the attention of the police after another row the next week.

Kirkwood told police he had spoken “in the heat of the moment” and it had been “an empty threat”.

Defence solicitor James Moncrieff said his client had told the police he was “very sorry” for what had been said. The couple were no longer together, he added.

Sheriff Charles MacNair said he was concerned that what was behind the incident may have been a desire for Kirkwood to control his partner. He called for reports and sentencing will take place on March 1.