A 35-YEAR-OLD man forced his way into the home of his former partner by kicking the door in.

The frightened woman locked herself in the bathroom trying to keep away from Graham Bruce.

Bruce, of Copeland Crescent, Cowdenbeath, appeared in the dock at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He admitted that on October 17, at an address in Cowdenbeath, he struck and kicked a door repeatedly in order to force entry, entered the property uninvited, refused to leave and unlocked a door which had been locked by his former partner in an attempt by her to keep away from him.

Depute fiscal Mat Piskorz said the couple had been in a relationship for three years but were separated at the time.

Bruce started sending messages to the woman accusing her of kissing one of his friends.

At 1.15am, she heard a vehicle pulling up outside her home and then Bruce started banging on her door. The door was kicked in and he entered the house.

She ran and locked herself in the bathroom but he managed to open the door.

Bruce refused to leave the house and police were called.

He told officers: “All I did was kick down the door.”

Defence solicitor Alexander Flett said: “He tells me they have now reconciled.”

Sheriff Charles Macnair told Bruce that whatever had happened since, they were not a couple when the offence occurred.

He added: “This was an example of coercive and controlling behaviour. You wanted to keep control over her.”

The sheriff imposed a community payback order with 101 hours of unpaid work and 12 months of supervision.