A MAN who threatened to “wipe out” Glasgow Airport in the wake of last year’s terror attacks in Paris has been given a chance to turn his life around after going to Paisley Sheriff Court armed with a knife.

Jonathan Gourley told airport staff he had spent two decades in the military and had just returned from war-torn Syria.

But the 43-year-old Canadian is actually a carpenter who has never served in the armed forces and has only ever been to Syria on holiday.

Gourley launched his rant at the airport on November 16 last year, just days after the Paris attacks, which killed 130 people.

He was staggering around as if he was drunk and asked an Easyjet employee for a ticket to his homeland but was asked to return once sober.

This prompted him to reply: “I’ve just pulled out of Syria. I was in the military for 21 years and was messed up. You don’t understand – I could wipe you out.”

Police were summoned and Gourley was held in custody until the next morning, when he pleaded guilty to behaving in a way which would cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm by shouting and swearing.

Sentence was deferred and Gourley returned to court in January this year to learn his fate.

But, as he passed through security, he told a guard he had a penknife on him and handed it over.

Gourley, of Kirriemuir, Angus, was detained and told police the knife was a family heirloom.

He failed to appear for trial on the weapon charge earlier this month but admitted his guilt after an arrest warrant was issued.

When he returned to the dock, defence solicitor Mark Chambers said Gourley was willing to comply with a Community Payback Order (CPO).

In February, he was told to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work as punishment for his Syria rant.

Sheriff David Pender opted to leave that CPO running to see how Gourley complies with it – and sentence him for the knife offence next year, based on his progress.