A SAUCHIE man was commended by a sheriff for the "phenomenal progress" he has made to turn his life around and bring his offending to an end.

Iain Bowden received the praise when he appeared in the dock for sentencing at Alloa Sheriff Court on Thursday, November 5.

The 39-year-old was due to be sentenced for several matters, all of which took place some time ago.

One incident occurred at Farmfoods in Alloa, where he smashed a glass door, and assaulted an employee there by placing his arm around the man's neck.

That took place on December 27, 2018, and occurred shortly after Bowden was attacked in the street.

He re-entered the same shop on August 2, 2019, to do his shopping, but was in breach of bail conditions not to enter the premises at that time.

Police were called and arrested him, and he was later found in possession of the class A drug diamorphine as well.

Ahead of sentencing Bowden, Sheriff Craig Harris called for a background report.

In court last week, the sheriff told solicitor Virgil Crawford the report was "excellent".

He added: "Many times solicitors are trying their best to pick out the positives where they can find them.

"Sometimes, when someone has a report as positive as this and has turned their life around as Mr Bowden has, I'll say I've read the report and it's positive, and we don't speak as much about people who've turned their life around."

To avoid that, the sheriff asked Mr Crawford to highlight some key points mentioned in the report.

Mr Crawford then outlined his client had checked himself into residential rehab, sacrificing control of his own finances and possessions, to address an underlying drug problem.

Bowden had made so much progress that Sheriff Harris noted there was a reference in the report of him possibly working for the rehabilitation charity and helping others.

He said: "I'm going to mark that phenomenal progress; you can now move forward with your life in a very positive way."

The sheriff then admonished Bowden, of Lochbrae, in respect of all charges.