A COUNTY man engaged in a course of abusive behaviour against his former partner by stalking her and attempting to control her movements.

Allan McLeish monitored the woman’s whereabouts and also regularly checked on her social media accounts during the near-two-year abusive conduct.

McLeish sent family members to monitor where the woman was going and also contacted the relevant authorities to claim that she was an unfit mother.

McLeish, of Douglas Road, Longniddry, was also said to have made veiled threats and posted offensive remarks about the woman on social media.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that the 41-year-old repeatedly messaged his ex-partner, repeatedly contacted her by phone and attended at her home unannounced.

McLeish pleaded guilty to the series of offences when he appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month.

He returned to the court last week, where Sheriff John Cook sentenced him to a community payback order as a direct alternative to a custodial sentence.

The sheriff placed McLeish under the supervision of the local social work department for the next 12 months and also banned him from having any contact with the woman for the next three years under the conditions of a non-harassment order.

The sheriff told the offender that he would also have to use a third party intermediary to contact the woman if there needed to be any discussions regarding childcare.

McLeish admitted to engaging in a course of conduct against his ex-partner from his home address between April 1, 2019, and February 22, 2022.