AN irate boyfriend trashed his girlfriend’s garden with a JCB in a fit of anger after she split up with him.

Alisdair McKinnon drove the huge vehicle towards Diane McCune’s Paisley cottage last week when she told him their relationship was over.

The 33-year-old JCB driver had been in an on-off relationship with Ms McCune, 50, for four years and was living with her on the outskirts of the town before the drama took place.

McKinnon parked his vehicle in the drive before entering Elm Cottage – the home he shared with Ms McCune in Mid Hartfield.

But she told him their relationship was over and ordered him to leave.

Incensed at the development, he jumped behind the wheel of his JCB to exact revenge.

He lifted the arm of the JCB, which had a bucket attached to the end, and swung it towards the bay window of Ms McCune’s home.

But he stopped short of damaging the building – and turned his attention to her garden.

He used the JCB to smash large plant pots and kerbstones, before digging up soil and moving it around the garden – then taking off.

Ms McCune, who was in her house with one of her four children from a previous relationship at the time, reported the incident to police that night.

Officers probing the drama tracked McKinnon down to an address in Beith the following day and he was arrested and held in custody for three nights.

He pleaded guilty to two charges when he appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court on Monday.

McKinnon admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by driving his JCB towards her house, placing Ms McCune and her 21-year-old son Corrie in a state of fear or alarm.

He also admitted using the digger to wilfully or recklessly damage Ms McCune’s property.

Sheriff James Spy adjourned the case until next month and called for background reports.

McKinnon was released on bail, with a condition in place banning him from approaching or contacting Ms McCune.