A Fife man who wielded a samurai sword in the street as he tried to start a fight has avoided a jail sentence.
Sword collector Colin Penman, 34, brandished the two-and-a-half foot long blade over his head during an altercation in East High Street, Buckhaven.
Penman had become embroiled in an argument with Robert Seaman after he asked him why he was sitting in the street talking to two young girls.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard there had been an attempted abduction at that spot less than 10 days before.
When Mr Seaman confronted Penman, the two began squaring up to each other and trading insults.
Mr Seaman said Penman “got very defensive” and “asked me to have a square go down at the beach”, which he agreed to.
He said that, as the two were walking to the beach, Penman ran into the house where he then lived.
“He came out with a sword at least two-and-a-half feet long,” he said.
Penman, of Rose Street, Methil, told Sheriff Alastair Thornton he had been out walking his pet chihuahua when he had stopped to let the children play with it.
He admitted he was a collector of swords and had three of them in his house, adding they were in a display and were “not to kill people”.
He said of Mr Seaman: “He called me a paedophile. I despise that.”
Sheriff Thornton said it was clear to him Penman’s behaviour caused “fear”.
Penman was found guilty of, on July 19 2013 at East High Street, Buckhaven, acting in an aggressive manner and challenging a person to a fight, while brandishing a samurai sword.
At the court yesterday, Sheriff Thornton sentenced Penman to a community payback order that included 150 hours unpaid work and to be under supervision for one year.