A GRIEVING chef lashed out by posting an online rant about a paedophile he blamed for his young cousin’s death.

Johnstone man Archie McKay slammed convicted paedophile Barry Duffin on social media over the death of Britney Mazzoncini.

Sixteen-year-old Britney died after taking an overdose while engaged in a Facebook conversation with Duffin, who was caged for forcing underage girls to have sex with him.

Britney’s family blame 19-year-old Duffin for her death as he did not call for help after she told him she had taken all her prescription medication, was struggling to breathe and felt like her insides were “burning.”

Shortly after the conversation, Annette McKenzie – Britney’s mum – discovered her daughter’s lifeless body in her bedroom.

Annette had never heard of Duffin until police, who had taken Britney’s mobile phone after her death, found messages between the pair and asked how they had met.

The messages officers found revealed that Britney had been talking to Duffin right until her least breath – and that he did not summon help.

She sent him one message saying: ‘I can’t breathe and my insides are burning.’

When Britney went quiet during the chat, Duffin panicked and demanded she texted him back immediately – but her mum found her dead less than 20 minutes later.

Duffin, of Argyle Street, Paisley, was later caged for four-and-a-half years and branded a danger to women for sleeping with three schoolgirls aged 13, 14 and 15.

He had sex with them between December 2014 and April 2016 at addresses in Johnstone and Paisley.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard 33-year-old McKay struggled to come to terms with his cousin’s death in July 2016.

In March last year, he took to Facebook to vent his frustrations following a text exchange with Britney’s mum.

He shared a news article about Duffin being jailed and wrote: “This paedo b****** is the reason my baby cousin is dead.

“I’m putting this out there for all to see because all he got for grooming young girls and letting my cousin die was four f****** years.

“I’m counting the days until you’re out ya b******, cos you’re going to be the next one buried.

“Please share and share and share this – let’s get it everywhere so his life isn’t worth living.

“And if any of this paedo’s friends or family see this post, f*** every last one of you.

“His days are numbered.”

The post was shown to Duffin’s gran, Lila Duffin, by a friend and the police were contacted.

McKay was traced and admitted his guilt when interviewed by officers, before breaking down in tears.

He earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, causing Lila Duffin to fear for her safety and the safety of her grandson, by posing the “grossly offensive comments” on Facebook.

When McKay, of Elm Lea, Johnstone, returned to the dock yesterday to learn his fate, defence lawyer Joseph Keenan advised Sheriff Susan Sinclair of the “tragic” background to the case.

Sheriff Sinclair placed McKay on a Community Payback Order, requiring him to do 120 hours of unpaid work in nine months.

She said: “I accept there is a background, I accept, in a sense, there’s a sort of provocation and I accept there are wholly tragic circumstances but he didn’t need to do what he did.”