Man with blowtorch chased teen

A Dunfermline teenager endured a horrendous night out when he was chased by a man with a blowtorch and was later arrested.

Darrin Reid, 18, of Pittsburgh Road, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court after causing a noisy disruption in the town centre in the early hours of the morning.

He admitted that on October 20 at Guildhall Street he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and taking an aggressive stance.

Depute fiscal Dev Kapadia said: “The incident took place at 4.20am when police were on a routine patrol and came across the accused causing a disturbance by shouting and screaming.

“They approached him and asked him to calm down.

“He continued shouting and swearing.”

When he refused to leave the area and instead continued with his shouting, Reid was arrested.

Defence solicitor Roshni Joshi said: “He tells me earlier that night he was chased by someone brandishing a blowtorch at him and I think that person has appeared in court over that.

“He had been consuming alcohol and as a result of what had happened to him he was upset and angry.”

Sheriff Pino Di Emedio told Reid: “You persisted in a situation when you were told to back off.”

He imposed a community payback order with 60 hours of unpaid work.