A Stonehaven man has been put under curfew after admitting to threatening to set fire to his wife and child.
Iain Bell, 35 of Stonehaven appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court charged with domestic abuse.
Fiscal depute David Rogers told the court that at 3am on October 13, 2022, Bell had gone to the home address of his wife and child.
The court heard that Mrs Bell had refused to answer the door and that she had a Ring camera doorbell in place.
Bell could be seen holding up a bottle of lighter fluid and was saying he was going to set fire to the house if he wasn’t allowed inside.
His wife reminded him their child was within the house
Mr Rogers told the court that Bell then held a flame to the letter box and was told to “go away” by his wife, who reminded him that their son was within the house.
The court was told that Bell walked back to his car and could be heard laughing.
He returned a few hours later and was then allowed entry to the house in order to “calm him down”.
However, Bell then threw his wife’s keys onto the grass outside the house before getting back into his car and driving over the grass.
On another occasion, on November 17 2022, Bell arrived at the home with a crowbar stating he was going to “get in the house” adding: “Do you think I’m joking?”
He then was said to have goaded her by saying: “Burn, burn, burn. I am going to make sure you f****** burn” to his wife over the door’s camera and added: “This house is going to burn down – there’s your evidence” as he ripped the camera off the wall.
Bell was very apologetic
Defence counsel David Sutherland said the couple had been married for 10 years and had one child together and that Bell was “very apologetic”.
He said Bell had “no recollection” of the events and of his “terrifying and shocking” conduct, adding the main reason was alcohol abuse.
Mr Sutherland told the court Bell was now attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice a week and that he was a “useful man” when he was sober.
He is ‘useful’ when sober
He said Bell had offered to have random alcohol testing carried out to help maintain his sobriety.
On sentencing, Sheriff Andrew Miller sentenced Bell to carry out 140 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to be tagged for six months and placed him under a supervision order for two years.
Bell’s electronic tag conditions are to be lengthened on Tuesdays and Fridays to 9.30pm in order for him to attend his local AA meetings. For the rest of the week, he was told to remain within his house between 7pm and 7am.
