A FALLOUT between friends prompted a Carlisle man to send his pal a threatening message, urging him to “kill the dog.”

At the city’s Rickergate court, no full explanation was given for what triggered the message sent by 55-year-old Philip Ball, who so upset his friend that he contacted the police.

The defendant, of Cumberland Court, Carlisle, admitted sending an electronic communication which was intended to caused "anxiety or distress".

The victim was at home at 8.20pm on January 23 when he began receiving messages from Ball, whose number was saved in his mobile because the two men knew each other, a prosecutor told magistrates.

In one, Ball wrote: “Just kill the dog. You owe me. Kill the dog.” He concluded that message with an insult. The man was sufficiently concerned to contact the police.

Ball was prosecuted for another Communications Act offence in 2022.

A probation officer who interviewed the defendant said he had been a friend of the victim for a couple of years before the man met a woman and within a couple of weeks the friend was talking about moving in with her.

In January, the woman ended her relationship with the defendant’s friend. The two men had then argued about how the friend had dealt with his relationship.

“He’s unsure about the chronology because he had consumed alcohol,” said the officer. She said it was a matter of concern that Ball had a previous Communications Act offence on his record.

That was related to him being accused of certain things at work.

“He had gone home and had a couple of drinks and then sent off some messages,” said the officer. Alcohol appeared to be the link between the two offences.

She said that Ball was not alcohol dependent but if he had money, he would spend it on alcohol and binge drink and that led to his offending behaviour. He had said he would continue to drink, even if he was given an alcohol abstinence tag.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with 40 hours of unpaid work. Ball must pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.