Drunk man who threatened to burn down sex offender's house spared jail

A man who threw stones at a sex offender’s flat after learning the man had been housed close to him has been spared jail.

Christopher Rennie, 32, threatened to burn the man’s house down and “p**s in his letterbox” in the incident in Bannockburn, Stirlingshire.

Police were called to flats at The Path, Bannockburn, after reports that Rennie was repeatedly banging on the man’s door and throwing stones at his window.

Prosecutor Lucy Clarke told Stirling Sheriff Court: “He had recently been provided with information regarding his neighbour – he understood him to be a registered sex offender and didn’t want him residing close to him.

“He was shouting various remarks about the man being a sex offender. The man was very distressed and feared for his life.”

Officers arrived to find Rennie in the street outside the flats, heavily intoxicated with alcohol at 9.30am on a Saturday morning.

Ms Clarke said: “He had white foam round his lips and was sweating profusely.

“He made it clear he wanted the man to be taken out of his address and shouted several times that he was a paedophile.

“He continued his tirade of abuse in the police’s presence.”

Ms Clarke said that Rennie shouted: “No matter how long I’m in jail, I will come back and burn his house down.

“I will p**s in his letterbox.”

He was arrested and told police: “The man is a convicted paedophile – you wouldn’t want that living next to you.”

Rennie, unemployed, pleaded guilty to statutory breach of the peace. The incident happened on June 20 earlier this year.

Solicitor Scott Robertson, defending, said: “He lives in the flats with his partner and her 13-year-old son, and he has two younger daughters.

“They have to walk directly past this man’s flat to get to Mr Rennie’s flat.”

The court heard that social workers had put in place “proper procedures” to closely monitor the convicted sex offender.

Sheriff Neil Kinnear fined Rennie £290.

He said: “Even if this person has got convictions in relation to child sexual abuse, people who’ve committed such offences are observed on a very tight leash once they are released.

“It’s not for you to start shouting and kicking doors because you don’t like it.

“People who’ve committed these offences have to live somewhere, once they have served their punishment.”