A MUSSELBURGH man verbally abused his partner after she refused to have sex with him during a night out at a castle in Midlothian.

Paul Marshall shouted abuse at the woman by telling her to “**** off” and calling her “a ******* cow” and “a horrible ****” while the pair were at Dalhousie Castle, near Bonnyrigg.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that Marshall also seized the woman by the arm on a separate occasion while a child was present after he had been abusive towards her at her home in Gorebridge.

Fiscal depute Oliver Davidson-Richards said that the pair had enjoyed a night out socialising and drinking alcohol at the hotel and returned to their room at about midnight on November 11 last year.

Mr Davidson-Richards said Marshall was “intoxicated” and was “looking to have sexual relations with the complainer” but she had “refused due to his demeanour”.

The court heard that the 39-year-old soon became abusive towards the woman, calling her names and telling her she was “a f****** embarrassment”.

The woman was said to have secretly recorded the conversation “for fear [the situation] would escalate”.

The fiscal told the court of a second incident when Marshall, of Windsor Park Terrace, had returned from a local golf club while drunk and said he was taking the dog for a walk.

The woman was said to be “worried about the safety” of the animal due to his drunken state and she managed to take the dog and a young child into her car for safety.

The court was told that Marshall then “seized her by the arm as she tried to enter the car” during the incident outside her home on February 23 this year.

Again, Marshall was said to have been “verbally abusive”, calling her “a p****” and telling her to “**** off”.

Mr Davidson-Richards said that the child was present throughout the incident and, after police had been notified, officers found Marshall walking in a nearby street.

He was taken to St Leonard’s Police Station in Edinburgh and held in custody until he was sober.

The fiscal added that Marshall then breached bail conditions not to contact the woman the following day when he texted her saying: “Sorry, please make this go away.”

The message continued: “If you really love me, you won’t let me go to court.”

The woman contacted police for a second time and Marshall was arrested again, telling officers: “It was only a text.”

The court was told that the woman “does not feel safe when he is under the influence” and she was in favour of a non-harassment order being imposed.

Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss said that the offences Marshall had pleaded guilty to were “serious charges” and deferred sentence to next month for the preparation of social work reports.

Solicitor Joe Mooney said that his client had a pre-booked holiday to the USA which might interfere with the date of the social work appointment.

But the sheriff was unimpressed and added: “If the report is not done, I will revoke his bail.”

Marshall pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of conduct that was abusive of his partner and on various occasions shouting, swearing, uttering offensive remarks, abusing her after she had refused to have sex with him, and seizing her by the arm during an incident aggravated by the presence of a child at an address at Gorebridge between November 11, 2021, and February 23 this year.

He also admitted breaching bail conditions by contacting the woman on February 24 this year.