A man has admitted a firearms charge after he was spotted with an air rifle on a Highland beach.
Jamie Ross, 27, was seen holding and raising the weapon by a concerned passerby, who reported the incident to police.
When officers visited Ross they found he had no certificate for the firearm, which he handed over to them.
Ross appeared at Tain Sheriff Court to plead guilty to a single firearms charge in relation to the incident on July 29 last year.
Fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh told the court that a local witness had attended at Nigg viewpoint that evening to take pictures.
“On the beach they heard dogs barking, drawing their attention to several persons gathered around a tent,” she said.
Man raised and pointed rifle
“The accused was seen holding some sort of rifle and was seen to raise the rifle and point it toward an old quarry area.”
The onlooker contacted police, who visited the beach the following day.
“The accused was there with family members. The accused surrendered an air rifle.”
The court heard that officers asked Ross if he had a licence for the .22 weapon, but he did not.
When Ross was cautioned and charged, he said: “I didn’t know I needed a licence.”
Ms Duffy-Welsh clarified that there was no damage to the quarry area and no members of the public had been present in that area at the time of the incident.
‘Ignorance is no defence’
Solicitor Graham Mann, for Ross, said his client “didn’t quite appreciate that the particular item is one that requires certification”.
He added: “Ignorance is no defence.”
He highlighted Ross’s cooperation with officers and, responding to a Crown motion for the forfeiture of the weapon, said: “He surrendered it and takes no issue with that.”
Sheriff Gary Aitken fined Ross, of MacDonald Road, Invergordon, £420 and ordered the forfeiture of the weapon.