A HAWICK man who threatened to burn down a pub after being told to leave the premises and was then involved in a violent confrontation with police officers has been jailed for 10 months at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

Thirty-six-year-old Martin Charlotte pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner outside The Bridge public house in North Bridge Street, Hawick, on the evening of Saturday, November 24.

The court heard how Charlotte was intoxicated and was loitering outside the premises and told to go away on two occasions within 20 minutes.

He returned again at 8pm and a staff member told him again to move on but this time Charlotte reacted by shouting and swearing and said he was going to burn the premises down.

The matter was reported to police but when officers caught up with him and tried to apprehend him, he began struggling violently with them as they tried to put him in the van.

Charlotte, of no fixed abode, was also jailed for two months for stealing a £6.99 bottle of wine from Teviot Wines in Tower Knowe in Hawick two days later.

The sentence is to run concurrently with the 10-month term.

In addition, Charlotte is to serve an extra 21 days as part of an unexpired prison sentence.

Defence lawyer Mat Patrick said his client had found it difficult to cope with issues in his life and had been experiencing major accommodation problems which had resulted in him sleeping in the streets.

Sheriff Derrick McIntyre back-dated the 10 month sentence to November 26 when Charlotte was first remanded in custody in connection with the matter.