Manhad weapon instreet

A Kippen man caught with a knuckleduster in a Stirling street this week narrowly escaped a custodial sentence.

Rory Hunter, of Main Street, had been carrying the weapon in Stirling’s Cornton Road on January 16, 2021.

The 20-year-old had admitted a charge of having an offensive weapon there without reasonable excuse or lawful authority.

Hunter’s lawyer told Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday that her client was a first offender who had experienced a difficult upbringing. He also had a number of mental health conditions.

The agent added that Hunter was keen to receive any support that the court provided for him and was regretful about the offence.

He had also been of good behaviour since the matter last called in court.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Derek Hamilton pointed out that the charge – under the Criminal Law Consolidation Scotland Act 1995 section 47 [an offensive weapon] rather than section 49 [a knife or sharp instrument] - was a serious one.

He said: “There is no good reason for having a knuckleduster other than to cause injury to someone.

“It is only the fact that you are a first offender that you are not going into custody today.”

He sentenced Hunter to a community payback order comprising 18 months’ supervisiom and 180 hours’ unpaid work to be completed within 12 months.