An abusive and controlling boyfriend who stood in the last council election now faces jail after admitting aggressive behaviour towards a woman and brandishing a knife to a teenager while holding his head over a sink.

Andrew Craig, 43, was told by the sheriff he was “swivering” on custody for his abusive behaviour to his former partner – after standing to represent the Irvine West ward for the Scottish Green party in the 2017 North Ayrshire Council election.

His defence solicitor suggested a community-based treatment out with prison might re-educate him better in the long-term even if he ‘maybe deserves’ jail when he appeared in Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week [Monday, October 5].

Craig, of Woodgrove, Dreghorn pled guilty to three charges of domestic abuse, threatening or abusive behaviour and assault at an address in Livingstone Terrace, the Auld Brig pub and elsewhere on occasions between May 1, 2019 and January 22 this year.

As well as behaving aggressively, court papers state he repeatedly threw objects in the house he and his partner shared, repeatedly striking the walls and striking one with a knife and breaking a window with a cup.

Court papers state Craig would insult his partner during the time of the offences.

He also admitted refusing to allow her to hold a bank account in her own right during this time and arranged for her benefits to be transferred into his own account.

The charge states he also threw a glass or other breakable missile at the woman on an occasion and made threats to harm himself over their domestic arrangements.

Craig also pled guilty to a charge of assaulting an 18-year-old by seizing him by the head and holding his head over a sink while brandishing a knife towards him.

When he appeared in the dock in a facemask and green jacket last week, Craig’s defence solicitor said his client’s relationship was ‘now over’ and was now a ‘solitary man’, adding he understood he would not be allowed near “anyone’s children.”

However he urged him to step back from prison and put Craig on the Caledonia programme, aimed at addressing domestic abuse, which he said would “re-educate him in a serious way”.

Suggesting there was no similar programme in prison, he added that jailing his client would only work “maybe in the short term” even though “he maybe deserves it”.

Sheriff Michael Hanlon told Craig he was ‘swivering’ on sending him to custody, adding: “I will allow bail, but I am not impressed at all.”

He ordered Craig to return to the court next month with bail continued while a Caledonia programme assessment is carried out.