A man caught in the street with a knife claimed he'd found it and was about to put it in a bin when police confronted him.
Steven Clelland appeared from custody at Hamilton Sheriff Court last Friday.
The 48-year-old admitted illegal possession of a bladed item in Union Street, Larkhall, on May 19.
Clelland was the subject of two bail orders at the time.
Chloe O'Hara prosecuting, said police officers spotted him walking on the footpath about 8.15am.
She told the court: "He appeared to be slightly intoxicated and made eye contact with the officers before grabbing his jacket pocket.
"The officers approached him and detained him for a search. They found a Stanley knife in his jacket pocket.
"Clelland said 'It was lying on the footpath. I picked it up and was going to take it to a bin.
"I didn't expect to be stopped by the police going to Farmfoods and back - a four-minute journey'."
Defence agent Ian Scott said Clelland insisted that was what happened.
But the lawyer added: "He should have taken the knife to the nearest bin and not gone to Farmfoods first.
"He ought to be well acquainted with the rules regarding this sort of thing."
The court heard Clelland has been jailed before for a similar offence.
Sheriff Andrew McIntyre deferred sentence for a criminal justice social work report.
Clelland, who had been held in custody since his arrest in May, was allowed bail.
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