A DISPUTE over the custody of a couple’s dogs led to a court appearance for a Musselburgh man.

Daniel Dobson had been in a relationship for about five years but it broke down late last year and he and his partner split up.

Dobson, 33, then turned up at her home in a drunken state in November last year demanding he see the animals.

The woman was said to have been left “terrified” by Dobson’s actions as he shouted, swore and threw a waste bin to the ground after she had refused to allow him entry to her home.

Concerned neighbours called in the police to deal with the drunken Dobson and he was soon arrested and charged over his behaviour.

Dobson appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to the offence. Fiscal depute Anna Robertson told the court the couple had been together for “around five years prior to the incident” last November.

The fiscal added that Dobson arrived at the woman’s home at about 6pm on November 13 and refused him entry as she saw he was “angry and agitated”.

He threw a waste bin to the ground and shouted “you are ****ing dead” at the shocked woman. Solicitor Angela Craig said her client was “ashamed at his behaviour” that evening and the couple were now “on good terms” despite the incident.

Ms Craig said that Dobson, of Eskview Avenue, had “drunk to excess” and the whole incident was “a dispute over their dogs”.

Sheriff Adrian Cottam deferred sentence to February 20 for social work reports to be prepared and told Dobson the special bail conditions not to approach or contact his ex-partner was still in place.

Dobson pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing, kicking a waste bin and uttering threats of violence towards his ex-partner at an address at Burns Wynd, Musselburgh, on November 13 last year.