A 27-year-old man has dodged jail after behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards firefighters who had come to his rescue.

Darren Joseph Watt, of Kirkland Terrace, Springside, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week from custody and pleaded guilty to one charge.

Watt was also facing sentencing on two other charges of assaulting, hindering or obstructing ambulance staff, which he had pleaded guilty to previously.

At the time of one of the offences, Watt was on bail.

The court heard that at around 7.43pm on December 19 fire officers received a call to attend at Stevenston’s Garven Road, where Watt was living at the time.

A smoke detector was going off within the property and there was a smell of smoke.

Officers knocked the door but there was no answer. They intended to force entry but Watt then opened the door.

There was a source of fire within the kitchen from food being cooked. Officers were dealing with the fire when Watt tried to remove the smoke detector from the ceiling.

Fire officers warned him to allow them to do their job and tried to calm him down. He seems to have taken umbrage to this and shouted: “I’ll do what I f****** want” and “I don’t have to f****** listen to yous.”

Defending Watt, solicitor Colin McLaughlin said that his client, who had been in custody for three weeks, suffered from mental health issues and had problems with alcohol.

He added: “It’s unfortunate behaviour and I’m rather sympathetic of the two officers.

“There have been a number of occasions when emergency services have been called. He’s tried to deal with his issues by going down south where he has family connections. He’s had three weeks to dry out of alcohol.

“His medication was stopped. He’s anxious about that. He hopes to address his alcohol problem.

“He is fit for unpaid work as an alternative to custody. He’s a young man who needs direction and focus in his life.”

Sheriff Iona McDonald said: “Mr Watt these are appalling offences. These are people who are coming out to assist you when you get into a state. If you drink yourself silly, that’s up to you. The only person who can fix it is you and if you do nothing then you can’t fix it. I was considering jail but I’ve listened to what Mr McLaughlin has said.”

Watt was given a Community Payback Order with two years supervision and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work within six months.