A furious ex-boyfriend has been ordered to stay away from his former partner after he verbally abused her while she was on a date with a new man.
Richard Bruce, 52, was collecting sea glass on the beach when he spotted his ex-partner strolling along Aberdeen’s Beach Esplanade in the company of a man.
Unable to control his emotions, Bruce then let forth a volley of verbal abuse towards the woman before turning his attention to her new love interest.
Bruce shouted and suggested the woman was self-centred while he advised her new man to “run a mile”.
Bruce left briefly but returned in his car moments later to continue the abuse, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
‘Run a mile, mate’
Fiscal depute Victoria Kerr told the court that on a date between August and September last year the woman was walking along the Beach Esplanade with a man she had been dating.
It was then she saw Bruce, her former partner of three years, approach them while shouting.
Bruce was heard to call the woman a “narcissistic c***” before stating: “Check you and your fat a***.”
Turning to the man she was with, Bruce told him: “Stay away from that b****” before adding: “Run a mile, mate.”
He was then seen to leave the beach but returned soon after in his car, where he rolled down the window and shouted to the woman that she was a “narcissistic c***” once more.
The police were contacted an she told them she was frightened of Bruce.
Appearing in the dock, Bruce pleaded guilty to one charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Accused was ‘triggered’ when he saw ex
Defence solicitor Sian Grant told the court that the couple had broken up only a few months before this incident and that her client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“He was down at the beach on that occasion collecting sea glass, which is a hobby that he shared with the complainer,” Mrs Grant said.
“When he saw the complainer, it was triggering for him, but he fully accepts that he shouldn’t have approached her that day.”
Mrs Grant added that Bruce would be willing to write a letter of apology to the woman, but she said she understood that she “probably doesn’t want that”.
Sheriff Peter Grant-Hutchison fined Bruce, of Rowan Road, Aberdeen, a total of £320.
He also put a non-harassment order in place, meaning Bruce cannot approach his ex-girlfriend for a year.
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