A DAD sent pictures of dead children to his estranged wife - to make her feel as low as he did following their split.

Alexander Findlay began to feel depressed after leaving wife Lynn Marie Findlay as he did not get to see their son.

So he sent her a series of shocking pictures of dead children and tombstones to make her feel the same way he did.

Over the course of July 11 and 12 last year he bombarded Lynn with over 300 Facebook messages.

And he has now been banned from having any contact whatsoever with her because of the morbid messages.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard yesterday that the couple had been together for seven years and had been married for 18 months by the time they parted ways in October 2013.

And by July 2014, Findlay was so disheartened at the lack of contact he had with his child that he decided to try and make his wife feel just as bad as him.

The court heard that he messaged her on Facebook and asked for photographs of his son's birthday, which had taken place the day before.

And, when he thought she was keeping photos from him, sent him a series of snaps of dead children and one of a tombstone.

Jonathan Manson, defending, said: "He was trying to paint the image to his wife of what it feels like for someone to lose their children and now accepts it was totally inappropriate.

"Arising from the break up there were difficulties in him seeing their child.

"He thought she was depriving him and wanted her to feel like he was feeling like and he sent the photos.

"There was no correlation between them and the difficulties he facing."

The lawyer said that alcohol was a problem and that Findlay, of Glasgow's Pollock area, blamed his wife for the break-up of their marriage.

But he said his client was now trying to "take responsibility and act like an adult" and accept he may also have been to blame.

He was give a Community Payback Order yesterday at Paisley Sheriff Court.

Findlay, 38, admitted breaking the Communications Act 2003 by sending his wife Facebook messages which were of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

After hearing that Findlay still sees his son and that contact is arrange through the child's gran, Sheriff Colin Pettigrew spared him jail.

As he did so, he said: "This offence is serious in nature.

"The messages are said to be of an indecent, obscene or menacing character, I agree entirely.

"The images were of deceased children and a tombstone, one can only imagine how that was received by a mother.

"Whatever you were trying to achieve, you went about it in entirely the wrong way."

He placed Findlay on a Community Payback Order for the next two years, ordering him to attend a program that helps domestic abusers change their ways.

As well as being banned from having any contact with Lynn he will also be supervised by social workers and has to carry out 150 hours' unpaid work over the next nine months.