A DRUNK man armed himself with an axe and a hammer and smashed his way inside a home – before telling police he’d only done it to get his Xbox back.

Robbie McKelvie, 25, was armed with the weapons when he broke in to the flat in Clydebank, near Glasgow, in June last year.

He was arrested after police caught him in the hallway of the property with three bags – containing the console, controllers and games.

And he told the officers after they caught him in the act: “I just done the door because Willie has my Xbox.”

McKelvie admitted breaking in to William Baxter’s flat in Cleddans View, Clydebank, on June 21, 2015, and being in possession of the axe – an offensive weapon with a sharp blade – when he appeared in the dock at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last month.

Sentence was deferred until Tuesday for McKelvie to be assessed by social workers to determine the most appropriate sentence.

Defence solicitor Kenny Clark said McKelvie was so out of his face on drunk and on drugs at the time and couldn’t remember doing it.

And the lawyer said although his client did know Willie, he could not explain why he’d done it – and said the claims he was trying to get his Xbox back were gibberish.

Clark explained: “That is completely untrue and completely without foundation – he has no idea why he said that to the police.

“It is entirely speculation on my part but perhaps it was because he had just had an Xbox in his hands a few minutes earlier that he thought this was an excuse he should offer to the police.

“He was very clearly not thinking straight at all.

“He was aware from day and hour one that he was in a serious predicament. “

He asked Sheriff William Gallacher, who could have jailed McKelvie for up to five years for the offence, to spare him prison, saying he “might well benefit from some social work involvement and support and that would benefit society at large”.

Sheriff Gallacher agreed and placed McKelvie on a community payback order as a direct alternative to custody.

He gave McKelvie, who was supported in court by his girlfriend, eight months to complete 200 hours’ unpaid work, and told him he will be supervised by social workers for the next 12 months.

As he did so, the sheriff said: “You were in possession of an axe with the intention, apparently, of doing something with it – it might have been to assist you breaking in to the property there.

“You entered someone’s property and stole property.

“If you fail to comply you will be brought back before me and I will send you to prison.”

McKelvie’s 200 hours’ of unpaid work were reduced from 300 as he admitted his guilt.