A SELF-OBSESSED son who sent poison pen letters to his elderly mum and her boyfriend to try to split them up swore on her life he will comply with a court order in the case.

Joseph Carson, 58, admitted sending letters and texts to his mother, 80-year-old Erskine resident Jane Carson, her former boyfriend Ronald Moreland, 77, and their friends and neighbours in a bid to bring the fling to an end.

In them, he branded Moreland as “a sleaze”, “a worthless piece of dog poo”, and “evil.”, but denied they were threatening, arguing he was just “looking out for his mother”.

As reported in The Gazette last month, Carson was found guilty over his poison pen campaign, which he carried out between December 13 and 30, 2014, and sentence was deferred for background reports.

But he failed to appear for sentence earlier this month, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Officers caught up with Carson last week, and he appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court on Friday and was remanded in custody over the weekend ahead of sentencing.

When he returned to the dock on Monday, defence solicitor Gordon Nicol said Carson still maintained he’d done nothing wrong.

The lawyer added: “This is a gentleman who finds it impossible to accept he is in the wrong.

“He doesn’t accept his mother has been anything other than influenced.”

Sheriff Seith Ireland warned Carson “custody is a distinct possibility” for him, pointing out that he had met social workers on two previous occasions but they had been unable to compile a report, due to the way he responded to their questions.

As Sheriff Ireland deferred sentence until next month and asked the accused to promise he will comply with the order, Carson replied: “I swear on my mother’s life and my father’s ashes.”