Teen who went on knife rampage had '˜downed 20 bottles of beer and vodka'

A DRUNKEN teenager ran amok with a knife shouting racist abuse and threatening to 'cut people's faces off'.

The teenager had reportedly binged on 20 bottles of Budweiser and vodka.

The 17-year-old had reportedly binged on 20 bottles of Budweiser, a litre of vodka and other alcoholic drinks before going on the rampage, Livingston Sheriff Court was told.

He repeatedly challenged Asian staff at a kebab house, threatened a Pakistani taxi driver and shouted abuse at ScotRail staff while brandishing the blade in Bathgate.

He was eventually stopped in his tracks by two off-duty officers who overpowered him and forced him to drop the open knife he was carrying.

The teenager, from Bathgate, pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner during the protracted incident at Khan’s Tandoori in King Street, on 24 August last year.

Charles Morrison, defending, said the teenager was a first offender and had no cases outstanding.

He said: “He has had a troubled background and in this incident he was heavily under the influence of alcohol.

“In fact, the social worker I spoke to said it was a surprise he was still alive given the copious amounts of alcohol he’d consumed.

“Clearly it’s an atrocious and terrifying incident.

“He has accepted that this is an incredibly serious matter and that uppermost in the court’s mind will be period of detention.”

Sheriff John MacRitchie expressed serious concern about the mental health of the teenager, who can’t be identified because he’s still under the age of 18.

The teenager was ordered to return to court for sentence on 18 April.