Man who carried knife in Thurso 'for protection' breaches work order

A Thurso man has breached a court order imposed after he was caught with a lock knife he claimed he carried to protect himself.

Appearing from custody, unemployed Bryan Stevenson admitted the breach of the structured deferred sentence by not engaging with social workers and unpaid community work.

The 25-year-old responded well to the order, initially, after it was imposed last October, when he admitted having the knife in Angus Court, Thurso, on August 29, 2021. Then his compliance "hit a blip" but he managed to get things on track.

However, Stevenson's commitment to the order lapsed again, leading to his appearance at Wick Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

His solicitor, Fiona MacDonald, said that Stevenson, of St John's House, Thurso, presented as someone who "lived an isolated life" and suffered from anxiety when engaging with others.

Sheriff Ian Anderson, who noted that the accused was a first offender, urged him to take the structured deferred sentence seriously and re-engage with social workers. The sheriff warned that failure to do so might result in a custodial sentence.

The sheriff will consider a review of Stevenson's progress on February 8.

When he was sentenced last year, he claimed he had no intention of using the lock knife but carried it for protection from certain people in the town who "had it in" for him, adding that he was "genuinely frightened".

Fiscal David Barclay told the then sheriff, Krista Johnson: "Given some of their names, you would be frightened if they were after you."