A roofer who grabbed a meat cleaver when he fell out with a group of Royal Marines at an Inverness nightspot avoided a jail sentence yesterday.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that father-of-two Stephen Simpson, 30, ran into the kitchen of the Johnny Foxes public house on November 27 last year and returned with the weapon.
But Inverness Sheriff Court heard that Simpson, of Liberty Road, Bellshill, Glasgow, returned it when confronted by two door stewards, saying “I don’t want any trouble.”
However, police were informed and Simpson was later arrested.
He admitted possessing the 18cm blade and had sentence deferred until yesterday for a background report.
Defence solicitor Michael Poggi pleaded with Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood not to jail his client.
He said: “He is a director of a roofing and cladding firm and is team leader to four other men whose jobs are in a precarious position if he loses his liberty.
“He has now matured and desisted from offending for 10 years until this offence.
“He had abstained from alcohol for 18 months but it was a brief return to alcohol which resulted in him acting in this manner.”£
Simpson was ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid community work.