A TEENAGER who threw a gun and a hammer off a bridge and on to a motorway told police he was armed with the 
weapons to protect himself.

Alexander McGregor, 19, from Renfrew, was cornered by officers in Arkleston Road, Paisley, last December. He then threw the weapons off the bridge, which crossed the M8.

The details emerged when McGregor appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court to be sentenced.

He had previously pleaded guilty to charges of being armed with a hammer and an airgun, in a deal that also saw charges of threatening and assaulting police officers dropped.

Procurator fiscal depute Tom Bowman said: “At around 7.22pm that day, a number of witnesses observed Mr McGregor in possession of a hammer and what appeared to be a handgun and contacted police.

“Police attended and observed Mr McGregor in Arkleston Road. He was seen to be holding a hammer in his left hand and a black handgun in his right hand and, on observing police officers approaching him, he dropped both of these over the railing. He was on a bridge over the motorway at that point and both fell on the embankment.

“Mr McGregor was apprehended. He began to become upset and said to officers ‘I just had the hammer on me because me and my pal were getting chased by these c**** from Renfrew and they were going to set their dug on me. Genuinely, mate, I’ve done f*** all. What would you do if there was c**** after you? I had to protect myself’.”

Checks revealed McGregor, who was drunk at the time, did not have a licence to have an airgun and he was not cautioned and charged while in custody because he was so drunk.

McGregor also appeared in the dock for failing to answer the door to police during hours when he had a curfew to remain within his home at night and for breaching a Community Payback Order (CPO) imposed for a Glasgow Sheriff Court case.

Defence solicitor Michael McKeown said McGregor recognised he had an alcohol problem and had sought assistance in an attempt to tackle it.

Sheriff Tom McCartney opted to revoke the CPO imposed at Glasgow and impose a fresh one, ordering McGregor to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and be supervised by social workers for a year.

He deferred sentence on the gun and hammer incident and failing to answer the door to police until next month.