'Jekyll and Hyde' boyfriend attacked girlfriend on romantic break as night porter at upmarket hotel rushed to her aid

A "Jekyll and Hyde" boyfriend attacked his girlfriend on a romantic break at an upmarket hotel.

James Maxwell's attack on Rebecca Mochrie was so bad that an employee at the 4-star resort had to let himself into their room due to Mochrie's screams for help.

And when the night porter entered after using his master key he found her cowering on the floor - and Maxwell towering over her.

The 39-year-old had previously admitted assaulting Mochrie to her injury at Ingliston Estate and Country Club, near Bishopton, Renfrewshire, on September 6, 2025.

The venue has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 on Google and is described as an "elegant hotel with an equestrian centre".

When he returned to the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court today, Thursday, January 15, 2026, to be sentenced, prosecutor Decla O'Connor said he and Mochrie had been in a relationship for five years.

The Procurator Fiscal Depute added: "They attended the hotel for an overnight stay and during the course of the evening they were consuming alcohol in the hotel bar.

"They returned to their room around 11pm and she observed a change in the accused's behaviour.

"He became angry and she used her mobile phone to record him.

"He lunged towards her and grabbed her hair and pulled it.

"She screamed for help and her screams were heard by the night porter.

"He used his master key to gain entry to the room and observed her on the floor with the accused standing over her.

"She made her way to the reception where staff observed she was distressed."

The police were contacted and Maxwell was arrested.

He was also charged with behaving in a threatening or abusive way on the same night by shouting, swearing, making threats, refusing to stop and challenging others to fight.

Maxwell, who was living in Cardross, Argyll and Bute at the time, had his not guilty plea to that charge accepted by prosecutors.

Defence solicitor Gemma Elder said Maxwell, now of Helensburgh, had "significant difficulties with alcohol and substances" at the time but was now sober and that the relationship was over.

Sheriff Gillian Craig said he had "limited victim empathy" and described him as "a Jekyll and Hyde character" due to his "attitude towards women".

She pointed out he had made comments about a young female lawyer previously representing him but had been described as "kind and generous" in a character reference from a woman he helped after she'd been subjected to a dog attack.

Sherif Craig pointed out he had a previous conviction for another domestic incident involving a previous partner from 2018.

But she spared him prison and placed him on a Community Payback Order today as a direct alternative to custody.

He will be supervised by social workers for 18 months and has to complete 108 hours of unpaid work in the same time.

The sentence was reduced from 120 hours due to his guilty plea.