A family heirloom uncovered by Richard Stewart as he cleared out his attic landed him in the dock facing a possible jail sentence.
It was a knife with a four-inch blade which he stuffed in his back pocket before visiting the bank and then his local pub.
Stewart, 38, of Tweedmount Road, Melrose, appeared on indictment at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday and admitted having the knife in the beer garden of The Ship Inn.
The court heard a member of the public, walking in Melrose High Street, spotted the knife, within a sheath, in Stewart’s back pocket and contacted police.
Prosecutor Tessa Bradley said when police called at the pub, Stewart told them: “Yes, I have a knife in my pocket.”
Miss Bradley said: “This offence happened at the beer garden which had very few patrons at the time. The accused was there with a couple of friends.”
Solicitor Ross Dow said Stewart had been clearing out his home and added: “He found this family heirloom in the attic and put it in his pocket. He walked to the bank and then popped into the pub for a drink and simply forgot he had it. He had no antisocial or criminal intentions and was fully cooperative with police.”
Sheriff Peter Paterson told Stewart: “As has been said before, possession of a knife is a very serious matter. But it also has to be taken in context, and this appears to be at the lower end of the scale.”
The sheriff imposed a community payback order, with 70 hours of unpaid work.