A MAN was in deep water at Dunfermline Sheriff Court this week for causing damage to a hot tub belonging to his former partner.

David Langton appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on Wednesday after causing fear and alarm to his former partner by repeatedly striking a hot tub at a house in Rosyth with garden shears and sending her unwanted text messages between August 9-15 this year.

Langton was given a community payback order, requiring him to do 170 hours of unpaid work, and a compensation order of £750 to his former partner. He was also given a non-harrassment order for 12 months.

Depute fiscal Kiran Uppal said Langton, 51, of Farm Court, Anstruther, had come to the home of his former partner. She had asked him to leave and, feeling threatened by him, bolted the back door and left him outside.

She heard a loud thudding noise and saw him in the garden hitting the hot tub.

After the incident, Langton's ex-partner received a high volume of text messages from him. "The text messages were expressing love – and some of hate – for the complainer and also references to the hot tub and apologies for the damage," added Ms Uppal.

Langton's defence agent said his client accepted that damaging the hot tub was not the correct way of dealing with what was happening.

"He accepts that, with the benefit of hindsight, he should not have continued to send messages and he accepts he should have simply left it at that," added the agent.

Sheriff Charles McNair said Langton appeared to have a big problem when it came to relationships. "You are going to have to sort it out or Perth prison will have to sort it out for you," he warned.