A BLADE offender who left a busy Greenock pub and returned with a knife following an altercation with another man has been spared jail - despite a sheriff telling him that the offence 'reached the custody threshold'.

Philip Leonard 'startled' bouncers at The Green Oak when he turned up with a four-inch lock-back knife.

Leonard, 59, took the knife to the Inverkip Street bar after he was involved in a disturbance within the premises around 40 minutes earlier.

Greenock Sheriff Court heard that door stewards 'became aware of an incident involving two males', one of whom was Leonard, at around 8pm on April 9.

He left and returned at around 8.40pm and was spotted with a 'black-handled lock-back knife with a four-inch blade', a sentencing hearing was told yesterday.

A procurator fiscal depute said: "This startled the witnesses who immediately backed away from the accused.

"He then made off and was traced later by police."

Defence solicitor David Tod said Leonard 'accepted it is a serious matter'.

Mr Tod told the court: "He is getting on now and has not offended this century or indeed for 10 years before that.

"He has genuine mental health difficulties but he appears to have managed in the community with no particular difficulty.

"He does not drink very often because he does not like the effect it has on him.

"I have told him that just because he can't remember doing it does not mean he didn't do it."

The lawyer said that Leonard would be fit to complete unpaid work, however, he requested that a period of supervision be imposed to support him through a medical diagnosis.

Mr Tod added: "It definitely does reach the custody threshold.

"It is not something that he thinks, 'I have not been in trouble for ages, nothing bad is going to happen'."

Sheriff Sheena Fraser said: "You clearly appreciate how serious this is and whilst you have a record it is of some age now."

Sentencing Leonard to a direct alternative to custody, Sheriff Fraser imposed a five-month restriction of liberty order meaning he must remain at his home address in Royal Court between 8pm and 8am each night.

He will also be supervised by the criminal justice social work department for 12 months as part of the community payback order.