A footballer stalked his ex-girlfriend and threatened to post private images of her on social media site Tumblr.

Stewart Devine, who plays for junior side Bo'ness United, previously admitted to causing Kayleigh Milne fear and alarm by harassing her online.

The 32-year-old was placed on a supervised community payback order for two years and ordered to pay Ms Milne £1000 in compensation.

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard Devine and Ms Milne's relationship had broken down following a holiday.

Prosecutor Samantha Brown said: "The accused and the complainer had been in a relationship for seven months.

"They went abroad on holiday to Cyprus and whatever happened there caused them to come home early - on the same flight but travelling separately.

"Upon returning home the complainer had blocked him on the telephone and social media in order to have no further contact with him."

Devine, who previously played for Stirling Albion and Stranraer, then posted a message from his Twitter account to Ms Milne's employers EasyJet, stating she had "left me for dead" while they were on holiday.

In the social media posting, he threatened to share images of her, the court was told on Thursday.

Ms Brown added: "The complainer was alarmed by these messages and found them quite distressing. She thought the accused was going to post pictures of her."

Police were called and it also became apparent Devine had been trying to make contact with Ms Milnes's friends.

Devine, of Cowie in Stirlingshire, had earlier pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of conduct that caused Ms Milne fear or alarm in July and August this year.

Defence agent Andy Bryson told the court: "Since his former partner's death in 2015 Mr Devine has suffered from an undiagnosed form of depression. He threw himself into this new relationship.

"I think he read much more into the relationship than was being returned and he went into a spiral of despair when it ended. He accepts his irrational conduct was hurtful.

"He took the posts down very quickly and had no such images - it was an empty threat. He was obviously doing this to hit back at his ex-girlfriend. He should have maintained his own dignity and moved on.

"He wanted to hit back because of the way he thought he was treated at the end of the relationship."

In addition to the compensation, Sheriff Derek Livingston also made Devine, who works as a housing and customer service administrator with Stirling Council, subject to a non-harassment order so he could not approach or contact Ms Milne for two years.