AN ALLOA woman told a man to pay her thousands of pounds or she'd make public allegations that he committed sex offences against children.

Pauline Beveridge, 50, posted several letters through his door on December 22, 2018, threatening to voice the claims.

Stirling Sheriff Court head from prosecutor Lindsay Brooks on Wednesday, January 15, that one of the letters read: "You have tampered with kids. You pay £5,000 or I speak out."

When questioned by police about the letters soon after, Ms Brook's said Beveridge told police: "I did post silly letters through his door, kidding on I wanted £5,000.

"I did it to get a reaction."

Beveridge was on bail at the time of the offence, having gone on a rampage in Alloa the month before the attempted extortion.

She used a knife to slash the tires of her former partner's car on October 20, and was in possession of the bladed item in public on the same date.

She went on to behave in a threatening manner by refusing to open the door of her home to police later that day.

And she failed to appear in court while on an undertaking to do so on May 9 of last year.

When Beveridge appeared in the dock at the Stirling Court to face sentencing for the offences last week, her solicitor Krista Johnston gave a lengthy plea in mitigation.

In relation to the attempted extortion, Ms Johnston claim her client had been the victim of a serious offence at the hands of the man in question.

Although that alleged offence had been investigated by police, it did not result in any charges.

But Ms Johnston claimed Beveridge had undergone a polygraph test – privately commissioned – which showed she was "being truthful" about the claim.

She then explained the attempted extortion was simply an attempt to get the man to admit his guilt.

And she said the other offences Beveridge committed came about as a result of her being unable to cope with the trauma of the offence she claimed to have been the victim of.

Sheriff William Gilchrist said he would sentence Beveridge on the basis her offence was just a "ham-fisted" attempt to extort money.

He then imposed a community payback order with the requirement she undergo supervision for 18 months, and ordered her not to contact the complainer.

The sheriff also deferred sentencing Beveridge, of Harris Court, in relation to the offences committed on October 20 to allow a background report to be prepared.

Beveridge will return to court in three months to find out her fate for that offence, and her bail was continued meantime.