A COWARDLY thug who hurled a brick through his ex-girlfriend’s window as she cradled a young child has dodged a jail sentence.

Rian Patterson, of Maple Drive, Johnstone, appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court last week to admit charges of shouting, swearing and uttering threats of violence on January 20 this year.

Procurator fiscal Ziad Ul Hassan told how 21-year-old Patterson turned up at his ex-partner’s home in Dimity Street, Johnstone, to “talk and be civil” but she refused to let him inside.

He explained: “The complainer had been in a relationship with the accused for five years. She had contacted the police to have the accused removed because he was intoxicated.

“As the police officers arrived, the accused left but he then returned to the locus and began to shout and bang on the door.

He was shouting ‘let me f**king in. I just want to talk and be civil.’ The complainer refused.”

The court was told the victim then watched as unemployed Patterson picked up a brick and threw it at a window, near to where she had been standing with a child just seconds earlier.

Police who were sent to the scene noted that the child was upset but unhurt.

Mr Ul Hassan added that, when Patterson was traced by officers, he admitted he had “f**ked up.”

Defence solicitor Gemma Elder told the court Patterson has not touched alcohol or elicit substances since his arrest.

However, Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill branded his actions as “stupid’ and “cowardly.”

She told Patterson: “This was a completely stupid and cowardly thing to do. You are 21 and have not worked a single day for four years.

“You are an embarrassment to the youth of today.”

Sheriff Gill ordered Patterson to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within nine months, as a direct alternative to custody.