Claimed that he was on a drugs rescue mission

However, the ‘rescue mission’ 53-year-old Iain MacLeod was on backfired and he found himself in the dock of the town’s Sheriff Court last Wednesday, charged with causing a disturbance.

That day MacLeod, of 25 Wellwood Avenue, changed his original plea of not guilty to admit an amended charge that, on March 27 at 41 Stanmore Avenue, Lanark he behaved in a manner likely to cause fear and alarm by repeatedly shouting and swearing and demanding entry. MacLeod admitted a previous conviction.

Depute fiscal Claire Nicholls told the court that the occupant of the house had been in a long-term relationship with MacLeod which had ended the day before the incident.

At about 6pm she was in the house with another man when they heard MacLeod shouting outside, demanding she come to the door and demanding entry.

He was refused entry and eventually went away but the police had been called and they later traced MacLeod to his home, interviewed him and charged him with causing a disturbance.

On being charged, he replied: “I’ll speak to my lawyer.”

That solicitor told the court last Wednesday that MacLeod had been ignorant of the fact that his partner had decided to end their relationship; he’d heard the other man was in her house “but he did not think he was there for any romantic reason.”

MacLeod believed the man to be involved in drugs and feared that he would influence his ex-partner to take them.

“There had been difficulties with this over the years,” explained the solicitor.

The solicitor said that the other man had not been alarmed by MacLeod’s behaviour as “he is made of stearner stuff.” and had told MacLeod “to go away in no uncertain terms”.

Sheriff I. Duguid noted MacLeod’s single conviction was an old one; he deferred sentence on him for a year for him to be of good behaviour.