A GREENOCK man who crept into a woman's home through her window in the early hours has been spared prison.

John Kane - whom the sheriff court was told has an 'horrendous' criminal record - clambered into his ex's property and refused to leave in what has been described as a 'frightening' incident.

Kane, 32, phoned the woman at 5am to be told he wasn't welcome but went to the house anyway, the court heard.

A fiscal depute said: “Around ten minutes later, the accused arrived at the locus, knocked on the front and rear doors and demanded entry to the property.

“The accused then made his way to the rear window to the property. The accused shouted, ‘let me in.’

“The witness attempted to stop the accused from gaining entry and again told him to leave.

(Image: Newsquest)

“The accused held himself up on the window ledge and climbed into the property.

“The witness locked herself in the kitchen and phoned 999.”

Kane, of Tasker Street, told the woman to give him her phone and asked her not to call police.

He thereafter left the property and was later traced by police at around 6am.

Kane told officers: “I just wanted to see her so I climbed in through the window.

“She wasn’t letting me in, so I just climbed in.”

Defence solicitor Derek Buchanan said: “He accepts he was under the influence, and he would not have behaved in this fashion had he not been.

“He had been completely accepting in responsibility and is not seeking to use that as an excuse.

“It appears to have been an act of complete folly on his part.”

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Mr Buchanan acknowledged that the incident would have been 'frightening' for the woman at the time, but noted that there was no 'abusive behaviour' involved.

Sheriff James Varney described Kane's domestic offending record as 'horrendous'.

He said: “The threshold for custody is absolutely met in this case.

“Your record does you no favours.

“I’m satisfied that we should give you an opportunity of an alternative to custody.”

Kane was placed under supervision for a period of 18 months and ordered to adhere to a curfew for nine months.

He will be required to wear an electronic tag for the duration of his curfew period.