A JEDBURGH man has been given three months at the town’s sheriff court to demonstrate he can behave himself in order to avoid a prison sentence.

Twenty-eight-year-old Shane Cowan has spent several months on remand after admitting a series of offences including stalking and sexual assault.

He previously pleaded guilty to a stalking offence by engaging in a course of conduct which was likely to cause the woman fear and alarm in various streets in Jedburgh between November 5, 2022, and May 10, 2023.

He repeatedly approached and confronted the woman despite being asked to desist and on an occasion attempted to give her a letter, sing a song to her and attempted to give her confectionery.

Cowan, of Blackhills Close, Castlegate, also pleaded guilty to communicating indecently with a woman at the Co-op in High Street, Jedburgh, on August 16, and making sexual remarks towards her as well as sexually assaulting two 16-year-old girls on the same day by striking them on the buttocks.

He also admitted obstructing police, breach of the peace and breaching his bail conditions.

Sheriff Peter Paterson placed him on a high-tariff structured deferred sentence for the next three months to see if Cowan could stay out of trouble.

The case will recall at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on August 5.