Gun scare man faces jail term

A MAN who sparked a gun scare by pointing an air weapon at passing motorists is facing jail – 15 years after he set off another armed panic with a stolen rifle.

Kenneth Craig (pictured above) repeatedly brandished the air rifle at terrified drivers on the High Street in Loanhead. Minutes earlier, the 45-year-old had dialled 999 from a nearby phone box to tell police that “Kenny Craig has a gun”.

A police armed response team was dispatched to the scene, where Craig was holed up in a common stair before he finally surrendered.

He had previously started a manhunt in Penicuik in August 1997 where parts of the town were sealed off for five hours after he stole a 22 semi-automatic rifle and bullets from a cottage.

Craig, described as an inmate at Saughton, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday to plead guilty to the latest incident in Loanhead on September 13. He admitted having an air rifle in public without reasonable excuse and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner with the weapon.

Sheriff Alistair Noble deferred sentence on Craig until December 21 for reports.