AN ARGUMENTATIVE racist has been at it again.

On Thursday at Alloa Sheriff Court, Steven MacGregor admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner towards Aviva customer service call handlers between September 21-26 last year.

During six calls the accused repeatedly swore, uttered homophobic and racially offensive remarks, and made threats of violence towards the workers there.

MacGregor, of Alva’s East Stirling Street, is no stranger to making abusive calls.

As reported in the Advertiser previously, in September 2012 he launched a vicious torrent of racist abuse at a Sky call centre worker - in which he told his victim to “go home and take your disease with you”.

He told the handler: “Have some damn respect for this country. I don’t respect you. I’m British. We rule you. I don’t have to respect you.

“Typical immigrant coming here, stealing our jobs. I don’t like you.

“Put me on to a British person. What’s your postcode and I’ll grass you to the f***ing border agency and get you deported for being a bloody immigrant stealing British jobs. Are you black?”

The handler transferred the call to his supervisor and later reported the incident to police. In March 2013, MacGregor was sentenced to a Community Payback Order.

Returning to court last week to face this fresh charge, fiscal depute Ruaraidh Ferguson explained that MacGregor initially telephoned Aviva to enquire why his insurance had been cancelled. The 43-year-old was told it was due to non-payment.

Mr Ferguson stated: “He didn’t take this well.”

MacGregor was said to have taken umbrage at the handler’s remarks.

He menaced: “You wouldn’t say that to my face.”

When asked if he was making threats, the accused replied: “Of course I’m threatening you. If I knew where you lived I would come down and I would kick your f**king c**t in.”

MacGregor made similar remarks to other call handlers, branding them “dumb”, “cowards”, a “bunch of b**tards” and “f**king c**ts”.

He asked one Aviva employee: “You sound a bit gay. Are you gay?”

When asked if he was a homophobe, MacGregor replied: “Of course I’m a homophobe.”

Whilst on the phone to a worker with the last name Fitzpatrick, the accused called him a “scummy Irish man”.

Aviva managers eventually reported the abuse to the police. When interviewed by officers, MacGregor failed to accept responsibility.

Defending, Alastair Ross claimed that his client took responsibility after hearing the Aviva recordings and was now “thoroughly ashamed of himself”.

Mr Ross explained that MacGregor was under a great deal of stress at the time. The accused was said to be in the course of rebuilding his life. He is now addressing his anger issues and has started a full-time college course.

Mr Ross stated that this is something that will not be repeated by the accused, as he wants to avoid further appearances in court.

Sheriff Wyllie Robertson told the accused, who began to cry in the dock: “Your behaviour was entirely unacceptable.”

The sheriff sentenced MacGregor to a CPO with 250 hours of unpaid work to be completed within six months as a direct alternative to custody.