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A married police officer who had an affair with a younger colleague has been convicted of running a campaign of abuse against her.

Love rat PC Martin McNally, 43, sparked a secret romance with the 26-year-old officer when they met at work.

During a relationship that lasted almost two years, they exchanged 110,000 messages, which they managed to keep secret from other officers.

But McNally regularly subjected her to violent and controlling outbursts, which terrified her.

The pair were traveling together in a police car when an argument broke out resulting in him grabbing a mobile phone from her hand.

He also strangled her during violent incidents and punched holes in her bathroom door.

His victim secretly recorded the aftermath of an attack in which she heard him repeatedly begging to leave her home.

She went to senior officers after being subjected to a barrage of abuse during a phone call in which he accused her of infidelity and called her derogatory names.

A married Police Scotland officer who had an affair with a younger colleague has been convicted of running an abuse campaign against her

PC Martin McNally, from Glasgow, denied any wrongdoing and stood trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court

McNally, from Glasgow, denied any wrongdoing and stood trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

A jury convicted him of abusing her and making sexual comments between March 2020 and February 2022, and of repeatedly assaulting her between July and December 2021 at locations in Lanarkshire and Glasgow.

The court heard that McNally and his wife were ‘estranged’ after his affair came to light in 2022.

Under questioning by Deputy Fiscal Neil Thomson, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told how she had been abused by McNally.

The jury was also shown photos of bruises on her neck after she was strangled by him.

In a recording played in court, she could be heard sobbing as she repeatedly begged McNally to leave her home.

She said: ‘I’m going to call the police, you strangled me, you pushed me to the ground and you strangled me. You did it upstairs, please go. You strangled me and I couldn’t breathe.’

Father-of-three McNally repeatedly denied strangling his victim and claimed he had not abused her, but admitted taking the phone and punching holes in her door.

He said: ‘I admitted to the things I did, I admitted to taking the phone and banging on the door, but the strangling didn’t happen.

“I was upset on that recording, she was upset and I was just trying to de-escalate it.

“I told the truth.”

Sheriff John Hamilton KC deferred sentence against McNally until next month due to reports and continued bail

Mark Moir KC, defending, said: ‘He is well aware that these are serious crimes and that a custodial sentence will be one of the options open to the court.’

Sheriff John Hamilton KC deferred sentencing against McNally until next month due to reports and continued bail.

But he warned: “These are serious charges and the context of the offenses is extremely serious.

‘At this stage I am keeping an open mind, but Mr Moir is right when he says the court will have to consider whether a custodial sentence is appropriate.’

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: ‘We acknowledge the outcome at Hamilton Sheriff Court. The circumstances will now be considered by our Professional Standards department.

‘Police Scotland demands the highest standards of professional behavior from our officers and staff and if anyone fails to meet these standards we will take appropriate action.’