A DRUNK man was taken into custody after he was spotted in possession of a hatchet in a common close in Clydebank.

Martin Burrows, 34, of Swindon Street, Clydebank, appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Tuesday, March 7.

He previously admitted that on October 28, 2016, at Crescent Court within a common close, he did, without reasonable excuse or lawful authority, have with him an offensive weapon, namely a hatchet.

Sentence was deferred from a previous hearing.

Fiscal Depute Martina McGuigan outlined the circumstances of the case, saying the offence happened at 8pm.

She continued: “A witness on CCTV saw two males and a female within the common close and, at that point, he [the witness] continued to observe their actions.

“He saw the accused in possession of a hatchet.

“Police attended and the accused was not cautioned and charged due to his intoxicated state.”

Scott Adair, the accused’s defence solicitor, said in mitigation that a witness who entered the common close via a lift saw the accused with the hatchet but Burrows pressed a button on the elevator to “take him away from the property.”

Mr Adair said to Sheriff Simon Pender: “I would ask that this can be dealt with by way of a community payback order. “

Sheriff Pender placed Burrows on a Community Payback Order which requires him to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work in the community within the next eight months.

Burrows was also placed under supervision for the next 12 months.