'STUPID' JAMBO FINED £1500 FOR GUN RAP

HEARTS star Lee Wallace was fined £1500 yesterday for being caught with a loaded air pistol in the back of a pal's car.

A sheriff told the Scotland under-19 defender he was a role model for kids and should have known better than to carry the weapon.

Edinburgh sheriff Kenneth MacIver added that he handed down the hefty fine to reflect Wallace's "privileged position because of his earnings". But he did not make the player reveal his salary.

The court also accepted that the offence was an act of "stupidity" and that Wallace had not meant to do any harm with the pistol.

Wallace was caught with the gun at 1.40am on August 4as he and his friends drove a round Sight hill in Edinburgh.

Police pulled the car over after a report that it was driving suspiciously slowly. The young men inside it said they were looking for the house of a girl they knew.

An officer asked the boys if they were carrying anything they should not have and Wallace produced the air pistol and 10 pellets.

The player said he had bought the gun that day and he and his friends had earlier been shooting at cans.

Wallace was originally charged with possession of a loaded firearm. He pled guilty to the lesser offence of possessing an air weapon.

Sheriff MacIver told the player: "You are a young man with exceptional talent, a fine footballer who may go on to represent your country.

"You are looked at as a role model for young people.

"You were not looking for trouble on this occasion and seem to be genuinely remorseful.

"But you will understand that you have to be punished to show that this type of behaviour is not acceptable."

Defence lawyer Andrew Houston expressed Wallace's remorse and said his client was a dedicated young footballer from a "stable and supportive" family.

Wallace lives with his parents in Edinburgh.

He is a first-team regular at Hearts and starred for Scotland under-19s in July as they reached the final of the European championships.

Wallace has written a letter of apology to Hearts over the gun incident and will not face further action by the club.

Wallace has written a letter of apology to Hearts over the gun incident and will not face further action by the club.

Taken from the Daily Record