A DAD-OF-THREE spotted in the street with a baseball bat told police he was just "hitting a ball about".

However, Craig Bonner, 35, found himself in the dock for failing to give a reasonable excuse as to why he had the offensive weapon in his possession.

Fiscal depute Dorothy Roy told Glasgow Sheriff Court this week that it was around 2.45pm when a witness near traffic lights saw the accused getting out of a vehicle with a large silver baseball bat. Bonner's actions were also caught on CCTV.

When arrested later on that day, he told the police: "Yes, I was down there hitting a ball about."

The incident took place in London Road – near Tobago Street – on April 6 this year.

Bonner was also initially accused of smashing up a car with a baseball bat and chasing the motor along London Road on April 11, 2018, but those charges were dropped by the Crown.

Pleading guilty to having the bat out on the street without a reasonable excuse, the defence agent explained that the accused was with his friend and a four-year-old child when another vehicle began to 'act in a threatening manner'. 'Panicked', Bonner accepted that he got out of the car with the bat and reacted in the way he did.

Bonner, of Millroad Street, was sentenced to a Community Payback Order with 160 hours of unpaid work to be completed within nine months.

Sheriff Barry Divers told the accused: "You know how it works."