A drug user broke into the home of his 85-year-old grandad and mum in the middle of the night and stole £3700.

Serial offender John Park smashed down the back door before stealing the cash.

In an earlier incident, Park violently attacked his partner, dragging her along the ground and punching her.

However, when he appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court, Park managed to avoid a jail sentence.

Park, 38, of Ballingry Road, Lochore, admitted that on January 6 he broke into the house occupied by mum and his 85-year-old grandad, stealing £3700 in cash and a photograph.

Depute fiscal Eve McKaig said that the evening before, Park had gone to see his mum and asked her for money to pay off a debt.

“She thought it was to do with drugs and refused to give him the money. He was unhappy about this and was asked to leave,” added the depute.

At about 6.30am the grandad had heard a loud bang and looked out of the window but could not see anyone. Later, he got up and he found that the back door was lying on the kitchen floor.

Park’s mum had a place where she kept her money, £3700 in cash, and it was now missing.

She also saw that a photo of her nephew in her purse and had been removed and in its place was a picture of Park.

When police tracked down Park he had £1600 on him.

Defence solicitor Chris Sneddon said there had been full recovery of the money with more of the cash being found elsewhere.

He went on: “There is clearly no excuse for his actions and he normally has a good relationship with his mother and grandfather, even though they’ve had to put up with his transgressions over the years.

“He had taken ‘street valium’ and has no recollection of events.”

Sheriff John MacRitchie described Park’s record of previous convictions as “horrific”.

Park had also breached a restriction of liberty order imposed for a violent attack on his partner.

He previously admitted that on June 30, he assaulted his partner. He repeatedly seized her by the hair, dragged her along the ground, punched her to the head and struck her on the body, all to her injury.

At the sentencing hearing in November, defence solicitor Stephen Morrison said: “He was concerned about her taking crack cocaine but he knows that is lobbing a brick from a glasshouse given his own drug taking.”

Park had been sentenced to a two-month restriction of liberty order but breached it on several occasions.

Sheriff MacRitchie told Park that the break-in was “simply the most appalling conduct, smashing down the door of an 85-year-old and your own mother in the dead of night".

He said the offending had passed the custodial sentence threshold “by a mile”.

However, he decided against jailing Park and instead imposed a restriction of liberty order for 231 days. He imposed no new sentence for the breach of Park’s previous ‘tag’.