A PASSENGER who held an air rifle out of a car window "did not mean to alarm anyone".

On Thursday, fiscal depute Laura Knox told Alloa Sheriff Court that a witness in Clackmannan's Craigrie Terrace called the police on October 18 last year after spotting a man holding a firearm out of a vehicle's window.

The motor sped off, however the witness took down the registration plate.

Officers spoke to the insured driver of the car. It then became clear that 28-year-old Nicholas Clark, of Alloa's Pine Grove, was the passenger in question.

When eventually traced, the accused admitted he had the air gun without a reasonable excuse, but was pointing it "towards the ground".

Defending, George Pollock explained that the rifle belonged to the driver, however his client was fooling around with it.

Mr Pollock admitted it was "sheer stupidity", but Clark "did not mean to alarm anyone".

Sheriff J.K. Tierney fined the accused £140.