A Motherwell drunk phoned the police to warn them he was about to stab someone.
When police officers went to William Paton’s home, they found him outside, armed with a Stanley knife.
However, solicitor Gerry McGuire suggested it had been an empty threat as his client didn’t even know who had attacked him two weeks earlier.
Paton, 45, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted unlawful possession of a blade outside his home in Woodside Tower, Motherwell, on November 13.
Mairi-Clare McMillan, prosecuting, said Paton phoned the police to say he was “seeking retribution” for an assault he had been the victim of.
He made further calls, warning he had a knife. This prompted officers to go to Woodside Tower where they found him in a car park.
The knife was in his pocket and Paton told officers: “That’s the one I phoned you about.”
Mr McGuire admitted the accused’s behaviour was “bizarre”.
McGuire added: “He stays with a friend in the tower block and had been drinking with him.
“This left him heavily under the influence and he has no recollection of phoning the police.
“He had been the victim of an assault, but didn’t know who the attacker was or why it happened.
“He was frustrated and went outside with the knife, phoned the police and waited for them to arrive.”
Sheriff Thomas Millar deferred sentence until April 9, saying: “I’ll get background reports to see if there is any alternative to a custodial sentence.”
Paton, who has been in custody since his arrest, remains behind bars.
