POLICE who poked fun at a 'bail breach' man on social media for not being at home during his curfew hours have been left red-faced — because it was THEIR doing he couldn't get in.

Officers had instructed a joiner to board up the 45-year-old's flat in Gourock after earlier putting his front door in in relation to another matter, the Telegraph can reveal.

He was later arrested and held in custody for 48 hours before police took a swipe at him on Facebook.

Police Scotland Renfrewshire and Inverclyde stated in the post: "If the court gives you bail to stay at home with a curfew then it's a good idea to do what the court says!

"Unlike one 45-year-old male from Gourock who breached his court imposed curfew this weekend and instead spent the weekend with us in Greenock Custody Suite."

But the social media jibe was published AFTER the man had a plea of not guilty to the alleged bail breach accepted at the sheriff court — on the strength of the police's own incident report.

Greenock Telegraph:

Defence lawyer David Tod told the Telegraph: "The information available to me was that the door had been boarded up by a joiner on the instructions of the police.

"My client's not guilty plea was accepted by the procurator fiscal on the basis of the information contained within the police report."

Mr Tod added: "A relative stays near him and he had gone to this person's address to stay."

The bail matter was the only case to call against Mr Tod's client in the wake of his arrest.

Stay informed by signing up to a Greenock Telegraph newsletter HERE 

After the Facebook post was published, one follower of the police social media feed took to the comments section to leave a 'review' of the custody suite and noted that it was a 'short commute' to the court.

Another social media user commented: "Oh my goodness silly guy lol."

Greenock Telegraph:

Police Scotland confirmed that officers conducting the bail curfew check found the door to the man's property 'to have been secured from the outside'.

A force spokesperson said: "Officers conducted a bail check at an address in the Gourock area shortly after 7pm on Friday, 24 April, 2023.

"On attendance officers found the door to the property to have been secured from the outside which suggested that no-one was within the address.

"The man was subsequently traced at an address in Greenock later that evening where he was arrested in connection with a breach of bail.

"Social media is a tool used to engage with the public and highlight the work of local officers. In this instance it informed the public that officers conduct bail checks as imposed by the courts, and subsequent action taken."

A court source, who declined to be named, said: "What I find most hilarious about this announcement by the police is what they neglected to mention is that the reason said 45-year-old male failed to adhere to his curfew condition is because the police had boarded up his property and he was unable to gain access.

"He spent two nights in police custody unnecessarily.

"The man simply couldn't get into his house."

The Telegraph understands that the police Facebook post was published without prior knowledge to the man's not guilty plea being accepted.

It had been scheduled to go 'live' around 5pm on April 24, however, police didn't receive information from the court until April 25.

Police sources say there is 'no record' of the man making contacting about being unable to gain entry to his home.