A thug with a "shocking" record for knife crime has been jailed for two years.
George Wilson, 46, admitted unlawful possession of a blade in Bellshill Road, Motherwell, on May 16.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard he was sitting with a can on a fence outside homeless accommodation in Airth Court, Motherwell.
Police noticed he was breaching outdoor drinking laws and when they approached him he dropped a knife with a three-inch blade.
Lawyer Alan Murray said Wilson had been sleeping rough in Viewpark Glen.
He told the court: "Unfortunately, this area is frequented by a group known as Viewpark Young Team.
"When he was sleeping one night he was assaulted and so he acquired this item for protection.
"His previous convictions are problematic, but he was released from prison in August last year and didn't come to the attention of the police for eight months until this incident."
In 2019, Wilson was jailed for 28 months for stabbing his girlfriend with a fork.
The court heard then that the couple started arguing during a meal and Wilson thrust the fork in the woman's face.
She suffered a small cut that left a scar.
Passing sentence in the latest case, Sheriff Andrew McIntyre told Wilson, a prisoner: "Your record is shocking when it comes to possession of items like this so a custodial sentence is inevitable.
"You have pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity so that will be reduced from three years to two."
The sentence was backdated to May 15 as Wilson has been in custody since then.
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