A man who breached a non-molestation order by contacting his grandfather and then threatened to kill his aunt has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Police received a report that Peter Crossan (27), with an address of Mantlin Cottage, Mantlin Road, Kesh, had contacted his grandfather on July 10.

It was after this that Crossan's aunt contacted the defendant to tell him to stop the contact and informed him she had reported it to the police.

Crossan replied by threatening to kill his aunt and made phone calls which she felt were harassing, Enniskillen Magistrates Court heard on Monday.

The court further heard that she provided screenshots of the call and texts to the police.

On July 13, there was a further report of contact, and Crossan's grandfather made a statement to police saying the contact was causing considerable stress.

Two days later Crossan was arrested and interviewed by police.

When asked if was he aware of the non-molestation order, Crossan replied that he thought he could not go to his grandfather's house, and did not know he was not allowed to ring him.

Crossan said he had been drinking in Omagh when he rang, and went on to make further admissions during the interview.

His solicitor, Gary Black, explained to the court that Crossan had an allocated social worker and had been living in Western Trust accommodation, to put the offending into some context.

He said it was only in 2021 that Crossan first came to the court's attention, and that was mainly due to alcohol and negative peer influences.

He said alcohol was a factor in the contact with his grandfather.

Continuing, he said that Crossan would be moving in with his father in Belfast and was somewhat isolated in Fermanagh, and ongoing work with Probation may enable a foundation to be laid for a relationship between the parties.

Mr. Black concluded by asking the court for maximum credit for his client for his admissions during interview, and for his timely guilty plea.

Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers told Crossan his behaviour passed the custody threshold, but she had decided to suspend any prison sentence.

She said Cross needed to desist from this type of behaviour, and it could not be repeated.

For the breach of the non-molestation order and threat to kill, Crossan was given a three-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and also a two-year restraining order in favour of his aunt.