Drunk tried to put girlfriend in wheelie bin

Kevin Vivers stormed into “a jealous rage” and grabbed 47-year-old Shona McGlynn by the neck, causing her to fall to the ground, Livingston Sheriff Court was told, before trying to force her into the bin.

Miss McGlynn broke free and took refuge in her car outside their home in Bathgate, West Lothian, but Vivers, 47, went into the house and came out holding a seven-inch meat cleaver.

Vivers appeared for sentence after earlier pleading guilty to assault, having the meat cleaver in a public place and breaching bail by approaching Miss McGlynn on two occasions.

Stewart Houston, prosecuting, said the couple and others had been drinking in the garden before the incident.

He said: “He became aggrieved at the complainer. The essence of it was that he accused her of having been wearing hotpants at the time and flashing herself at males present.

“He attempted to force her into a wheelie bin which he was unable to do.

“She had redness to her neck and a grazed left knee but declined medical attention.

Andy Aitken, defending, said his client – who remembered nothing of the incident – was ashamed and couldn’t believe what he’d done.

He said: “The complainer indicated to me that Mr Vivers had got more and more aggressively drunk as everything went on.

“The green-eyed monster of jealousy arrived as she was speaking to another male and he reacted in a jealous rage.”

Vivers, who has been on remand since Hogmanay, was given a 40-day prison sentence backdated to December 31.

He was also put under supervision for 18 months to help deal with his excessive drinking and ordered to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Douglas Kinloch told him: “Shona McGlynn has forgiven you and you haven’t offended in any way similar to this for quite a number of years.

“I’m prepared to deal with this by way of a community sentence.”