A 38-year-old who tried to intimidate a man as he spoke to police in a bar was sentenced to a 12-month community payback order with a total of 180 hours of unpaid work.
Douglas Cruikshank, of Winston Road, Galashiels, admitted behaving in an abusive, belligerent and aggressive manner at the town’s Woodcutter pub on November 10.
Police were making enquiries relating to an allegation of assault when the accused came into the bar.
“He stood and stared at the person police were speaking to, and when the man asked him if he had a problem, he told him he was just watching him being a grass,” said prosecutor Graham Fraser.
The man ignored Cruikshank, but he continued to stare.
“Police were concerned about intimidation and asked him to leave, but he was belligerent and refused to go,” said the prosecutor.
When officers told Cruikshank they were going to search him as they had been told he could have a weapon, he became even more difficult and was arrested.
His lawyer, Mat Patrick, said: “These were the actions of a man who had drunk far too much. He became really upset when police said they were going to search him for a weapon as, it his position, he would never do such a thing. He should never have got himself involved in the police investigation.”
Cruikshank was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work for the offence and received an additional 100 hours after he admitted breaching a community payback order.