A Kilwinning man has been ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work after admitting to possessing a chainsaw at a petrol station in Dreghorn.

John Robert McNab behaved in a threatening or abusive manner and stated he was in possession of a chainsaw and firearm at the BP Garage at Corsehill Mount on January 22.

McNab, of Sundrum Place, had previously appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court where he pled guilty to both charges.

Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane had deferred sentence for reports and last week, McNab returned to the same court to hear his fate.

Defending McNab, solicitor Martin Duffy stressed that his client had pled guilty “at the first opportunity”, that he had been struggling with alcohol and that he regretted the incident.

Referring to the background reports that had been carried out on McNab, Mr Duffy told Sheriff McFarlane: “You will see that he accepts full responsibility and has a lot of remorse.”

Mr Duffy also said that McNab had recently completed a Safeguarding Communities Reducing Offending (SACRO) programme in Irvine and had just started a cognitive behaviour therapy course in Kilmarnock. 

He added: “He accepts that he’s got a difficulty here. There’s no point in denying – he’s not been off the drink completely. The incident seems to be some kind of wake up call for him.”

Sheriff McFarlane ordered McNab to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work, discounted from 250 hours, with a one-year supervision.

Sentencing the 27-year-old, Sheriff McFarlane said: “Mr McNab, you’ve recognised you have a problem and that you need to address it.”