Forfar knife man avoids prison

A man who tried to carry a knife into court avoided a jail term yesterday.

Graeme Henderson had the knife hidden in his backpack when he walked through the front door of Forfar Sheriff Court.

Henderson, who has previous convictions for knife offences, was searched by a security guard and admitted he had the lock knife stashed in his bag.

Forfar’s court is normally unguarded so on a normal day he would have been able to wander straight into the building’s court rooms unchallenged.

Depute fiscal Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court: “It was a lock knife with a blade of about two inches.”

Henderson, 44, of Glenmoy Terrace, Forfar, pled guilty on indictment to being in possession of a lock knife at Forfar Sheriff Court on July 28 last year.

Defence solicitor Anika Jethwa said: “Clearly it is a serious matter with regards to his record for similar offences.

“He had attended the court to meet a friend.

“It was a small pen knife with a locking mechanism.”

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael imposed a community payback order with 18 months supervision and ordered Henderson to be confined to his home every day from 7pm until 7am on an electronic tag for the next five months.

He said: “This is a serious matter and you have a similar conviction.”