A TEENAGER was found in possession of a Stanley knife after police were flagged down by a member of the public concerned about a drunk male in the street.

Daniel Randall was found with the knife in Kimberley Street in Mountblow on the evening of March 29.

The 18-year-old confessed to the police after officers asked him if he had any sharp items on him before beginning a search.

Fiscal depute Emma Thomson told Dumbarton Sheriff Court last Friday that police had been flagged down on Mountblow Road at around 6pm, and had found Randall drunk in nearby Kimberley Street a few moments later.

Randall told the officers he had the weapon “for my own protection”; the yellow-handled knife, with a blade of around six centimetres long, was found stuffed down inside his sock.

Defence solicitor Judith Reid said: “It is a very serious matter in view of his record, but I would submit that a supervision order with unpaid work would be appropriate here.”

Sheriff William Gallacher said: “I’m concerned about his situation, and about the way he has burst into the criminal justice system in a situation of the utmost gravity.”

Addressing Randall directly, the sheriff said: “This was very deliberate possession of an item that could cause catastrophic damage to somebody.

“However, you appear before me as a first offender and with a background that is difficult, and for those reasons I am satisfied I can deal with you today without imposing a custodial sentence.”

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Randall, who was described in court papers as a resident at the Blue Triangle Project in Alexandria, was placed on a community payback order with two years of social work supervision and also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work within six months.

The sheriff told Randall: “These are alternatives to sending you to custody. If you don’t comply, you’ll be brought back before me, and that’s what I’ll do – because the balance will then swing against you, and in favour of protecting the public.”