A CONTROLLING and aggressive man who placed a hidden camera in the bedroom he shared with his partner has been ordered to do unpaid work.

Simon Elliot's behaviour was regularly threatening and abusive which led to fears from his partner of around 10 years that he might kill her.

Appearing for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on Wednesday, he admitted that between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017, at a house in Dover Park, Dunfermline, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by repeatedly shouting at and behaving in an aggressive manner towards his partner and placing a video recording camera in the bedroom.

Depute Fiscal Alastair McDermott said Elliot's partner told police that his behaviour was controlling and he constantly questioned her and accused her of having affairs.

"These accusations frequently led to arguments," he added. "The accused often became aggressive during the arguments and she thought the accused might kill her.

"She described situations where the accused screamed directly into her face in an extremely aggressive manner."

On an unconfirmed day, Elliot, 44, now of Montgomery Terrace, Melrose, put an alarm clock containing a covert camera into the bedroom. Footage recorded on the camera could be recorded on an SD card or viewed remotely on a mobile phone app.

Sheriff Charles Macnair put Elliot on a community payback order requiring him to do 225 hours of unpaid work within six months and placed him on a non harassment order for 12 months banning him from entering Dover Park.

He told him: "Over a period of a year, you behaved in the most deplorable manner towards your partner and that included aggressive and controlling behaviour and the idea that you thought that putting a camera in your bedroom without telling your wife seems to me to sum up the attitude that you were in charge and she was to do what was required of her and that is the controlling nature of domestic abuse.

"I see that that you say this was to check up on your son. If that is right, then why on earth was there any justification for not telling your partner and discussing with her what was going to happen. I am just prepared to deal with this by way of a non custodial sentence."