'Quite alarming' | Obsessed worker bombarded ex-colleague with love songs & poems

A government worker bombarded a former colleague with self-written love songs and poems for her in the run up to her wedding.

Civil servant William Darroch pursued Ainsley McArthur with romantically motivated texts and emails over the course of several months, including songs and poems, written and performed by Darroch, that made reference to McArthur’s ‘smile and lips’ and other physical attributes. Darroch also described wanting to sing his victim to sleep and outlined several romantic activities he wanted to pursue with her.

According to Greenock Sheriff Court, the pair first met in 2008 when they both started working for the Department for Work and Pensions in Glasgow.

McArthur left the DWP in 2019 but she remained in contact with Darroch, who subsequently refused to stop contacting her when asked to do so in 2020.