A MAN who went into Tesco with the blade of a kitchen knife sticking out of his trousers was jailed for 14 months last week.

Alexander Robertson, 39, hid the item in his lower clothing "as an act of crass stupidity", Falkirk Sheriff Court was told.

The incident occurred in Alloa at 8.15 am on October 8 last year.

Security guards at the store saw Robertson and a 45-year-old woman enter, apparently under the influence.

Prosecutor Cheryl Clark said: "They noticed Mr Robertson had his left hand wrapped in tin foil and he had dried blood on his jacket."

Ms Clark said that when he turned away, one of the security officers noticed Mr Robertson had "a four inch silver sharp-pointed blade sticking upwards from his trousers, as if the handle was tucked into his trousers".

The incident was also captured on CCTV, and police were informed.

Robertson was arrested less than two hours later near the Clackmannanshire Community Hospital in Hillpark, Sauchie.

Officers recovered "a large kitchen knife" from nearby bushes.

Appearing by video link from Kilmarnock Prison on Wednesday, April 14, Robertson pleaded guilty to having a knife in a public place without reasonable excuse.

Gordon Addison, defending, said Robertson, now of Sauchie, and the woman had been in a relationship, and he had "taken the knife from her".

He said: "Rather than throw it away, he put it down the back of his trousers.

"You have to think of it as an act of crass stupidity.

"Mr Robertson has been guilty of acts of crass stupidity many times in his life.

"They went to the shops to get some stuff, left the shop, and of course it was seen.

"It shone out – literally – on CCTV, sticking out of the back of his trousers."

Announcing the 14-month jail term, Sheriff Keith O'Mahony said: "I have no option but to impose a custodial disposal."