A KILWINNING man who chased a gang away from his home with a metal pin has narrowly avoided a prison sentence.

Lewis McCann was arrested after running into the street with a 5-inch metal pin - which he used to chisel wood - on February 11.

The episode began at around 2.10pm when a group of young men to whom he owed money came to McCann’s home in Morville Crescent.

They were allowed in and went up to his bedroom, where an argument over the money ensued, overheard by McCann’s mother and brother, who were also in the house.

The visitors then left, but remained close to the house, grouped on the wheelchair access ramp used by McCann’s mother, and shouting out threats to him and his family.

Both McCann and his brother headed outside to see the gang off, but McCann doubled back, returned to his bedroom and grabbed a metal pin.

He then came around to the front of the house via the side door and chased the gang out into the street.

The scene was witnessed by neighbours, who contacted police to report people chasing each other up the street with knives.

When officers arrived at the scene and spoke to McCann, he told them: “It wasn’t a knife. It was a bit of metal. I’ll get it.” The unemployed 19-year-old appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court in March to plead guilty to having an offensive weapon in public.

He returned to court for sentencing last week, when he was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody.