A CLYDEBANK man who went into a Co-op store in the town while armed with two knives was caught after worried staff raised the alarm.

A worker at the Clydebank Co-op, in Kilbowie Road, became concerned after Richard Mochan entered the shop at around 9am on September 19.

Mochan, 44, of Cornock Street, appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court for sentencing on Friday after pleading guilty to possession of the bladed weapons.

Fiscal depute Martina McGuigan said a member of staff had become concerned because she believed Mochan “had a knife sticking out of his inside pocket”.

Police were contacted – and when they carried out a search they discovered Mochan had not one, but two blades.

Ms McGuigan added: “A 14-centimetre wooden handled knife with a cover was found in his jacket pocket.

“He said ‘that’s my dad’s’.

“A further search recovered an 8.5cm rubber-handled knife, with a cover, was found in his trouser pocket.”

Solicitor Jonathan Paul said Mochan had had to deal with a number of personal issues, including the end of his marriage and the deaths of both his parents “fairly close together”.

But Mr Paul added: “He accepts it must have been alarming to those around him at the time.”

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry noted Mochan was already on a community payback order (CPO) imposed for an unrelated offence.

Opting to defer sentence until April 29 for good behaviour and a progress report on that order, the sheriff told Mochan: “What happens next is as yet undecided, but you have a large role to play, and can substantially influence what does happen next.

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“If I get a report which says you’re doing well on your existing CPO, I think you can realistically expect to avoid prison in this case.

“The same can’t be said if I get a report saying ‘he doesn’t turn up’, ‘he turns up under the influence’ or ‘he doesn’t seem committed to complying with the order’.”