A GALASHIELS man threatened to set a local public house on fire after getting involved in an altercation with staff and customers, Selkirk Sheriff Court has been told.

Thirty-six-year-old Rory Morrison had been drinking in the Woodcutter in Langlee on the evening of March 16 but was asked to leave due to his behaviour.

He became aggressive at this point and assaulted a member of staff by grabbing her by the arm.

Morrison made a gesture of running his finger along his throat which was directed towards customers in the bar.

He left the bar but returned and, despite being asked to leave again, was aggressive towards staff and customers both inside and outside the pub.

Police attended and Morrison stated he was going to "torch the pub" but officers managed to engage with him and calm him down.

Defence lawyer Ross Dow said his client was now drug free and there had been no injury to anyone during the incident. He added the people in the pub knew him and would have known they were "empty threats."

Morrison pleaded guilty to charges of assault, threatening or abusive behaviour and breaching a non-harassment order by being in contact with his former partner.

But Mr Dow pointed out someone from the pub had contacted the woman in an attempt for her to persuade him to leave the premises.

Sheriff Peter Paterson said Morrison had been one of the failures of the court during his 11 years on the bench because "he did not want to conform" and criticised his attitude for refusing to admit anything was his fault.

He said that on this occasion he would impose an alternative to custody but if there was any further offending, especially if it involved his former partner, then he would be going straight to jail.

Morrison was given a nine-month curfew at his home in Hawthorn Road between the hours of 7pm and 7am and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.