A GREENOCK man in his mid-40s shouted and swore at his 17-year-old girlfriend just days after being ordered by a sheriff to stay away from her.

John Dorrian, 46, called the teenager a 'dirty wee rat' and accused her of cheating on him.

Dorrian had been allowed bail in February last year on condition that he did not approach or contact the girl.

But he went to a house in Inverclyde and became embroiled in a three-and-a-half hour early morning argument with her.

Dorrian - who also flouted a night-time curfew four days after it was imposed on him last month - shouted, swore and made abusive remarks towards the teenager, Greenock Sheriff Court was told.

A procurator fiscal depute said: "Just after 4am [on February 17 last year] the accused returned to the locus. An argument occurred there and continued until around 7.30am.

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"Witnesses could overhear a male voice stating 'You can leave when you want' and calling the complainer a 'dirty wee rat'.

"He continued to shout that she had been unfaithful.

"Police were contacted and officers arrived just before 8am and observed the complainer upset in the living room."

Dorrian was arrested, taken to Greenock police office, cautioned and charged and stated: "What, I get the jail for refusing to leave?"

He and the complainer had been in a relationship at that stage for around four months, the court heard.

Solicitor Ellen Macdonald said Dorrian, of Prospecthill Street in Greenock, was 'in desperate need of some supervision'.

As a direct alternative to custody, Sheriff James Varney sentenced Dorrian to a community payback order with 12 months of supervision and 90 hours of unpaid work to be completed within six months.