Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Veteran from Fife terrified taxi driver with imitation revolver

Thomas McCabe at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court
Thomas McCabe at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court

A pensioner who pointed an imitation firearm at a terrified taxi driver has been placed on a curfew.

Armed forces veteran Thomas McCabe, 74, left William Begbie shaken when he wielded what the driver believed was a real gun and cocked the hammer.

Mr Begbie, 65, had gone into McCabe’s home in Greengates, Leven, to collect a fare and saw military paraphernalia and an AK47 mounted on his wall.

At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, McCabe, who served with the parachute regiment in Ireland and Libya, was placed on a restriction of liberty order for six months requiring him to wear an electronic tag.

McCabe was convicted after trial of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by presenting an imitation firearm at Mr Begbie and possessing a deactivated revolver without lawful authority or reasonable excuse in nearby Dykeneuk.

He maintained his innocence as he was sentenced for the offences which occurred on May 26, 2017.

The court forfeited the revolver, worth £200, which was not the Smith and Wesson firearm described by Mr Begbie in the earlier incident.

Mr Begbie had told the court McCabe had cocked the hammer and briefly pointed what he thought was a real gun, and potentially loaded, towards his stomach.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The Courier newsletter


McCabe said he was showing the weapon to Mr Begbie and told him it and the AK47 were deactivated.

Police were called after Mr Begbie returned to his depot and they saw McCabe leaving his home.

When McCabe was searched the deactivated revolver was found tucked into his trousers, which he claimed he was taking to a potential buyer.

As he was sentenced, his solicitor Mary Walker said McCabe maintained the position he took throughout his trial.

She added: “He does suffer from various health conditions, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder, which comes from his service in the army.”

Sheriff Alison McKay warned him: “I do consider both charges to be serious and, not withstanding your age and lack of previous offending, a custodial sentence is something the court has to consider.”

However, she imposed the order instead and due to his PTSD and anxiety about being “cooped up” in his house, she set the hour of his curfew to 8pm rather than 7pm.

McCabe challenged the Crown’s motion to forfeit his revolver but was told only the leather holster it was contained in would be returned.

He was also assured his AK47, taken as evidence, would be returned.