A PENSIONER who recklessly discharged a shotgun over a public park in Melrose has been fined £1,200 and ordered to pay a £75 victim surcharge at Selkirk Sheriff Court.

Seventy-one-year-old Edward Hopkins, from Edinburgh, admitted the offence – which took place on February 4 – shortly before his case was due to go to trial.

Alasdair Fay, prosecuting, said a couple who were walking along a nearby footpath were left "alarmed" by the incident, having reported hearing "a loud pop" and spotting a crow in distress.

Hopkins was seen in the grounds of a property he owns in the neighbouring Abbey Mill Park – but initially denied the offence.

At the time it was thought he was carrying an air rifle, but it later turned out to be a 12-gauge shotgun.

Sheriff Janys Scott warned Hopkins discharging a firearm from a domestic property, across a playing field, was "a very serious matter".

But defence lawyer Ross Dow, said the first offender had no intention of using a gun again and has since returned his firearms licence.

Mr Dow added: "He did not think anyone was there."

A plea of not guilty to a charge of failing to store the shotgun securely was accepted by the Crown.