A BUS passenger was arrested after being found with a knife at Ferrytoll Park and Ride.

Max Favour, 52, claimed he didn't know what the rules were about certain sizes of locking knives when he was arrested at the travel interchange.

He had been spotted using a knife to cut sticky tape so he could attach a handheld device to stop it moving during the journey.

A bus inspector was concerned at seeing the weapon and contacted police.

Appearing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing on Wednesday, he had earlier admitted that on June 8 at Ferrytoll Park and Ride, Inverkeithing, he did, without reasonable excuse or lawful authority, have a locking knife with him.

Depute fiscal Joanne Morrison said a bus inspector had been on the lookout for Favour, of Waverly Court, Glenrothes, after receiving information from social media site twitter on Stagecoach's account.

"This included a photo of the accused and suggestion he may have been watching inappropriate material on his handheld device," she told the court. "He decided he was going to try and trace the accused and on June 8, was working on a bus which took its route from Halbeath interchange to Edinburgh airport.

"The accused got on that bus and sat directly behind the driver. Mr Skinner watched as the accused placed some form of sticky tape on an advertising board and he used what is described as a brown-handled knife as seen to slash the tape and thereafter he stuck a handheld device onto the tape holding it in place."

Police were called and seized a locking knife with a blade of around seven centimetres from his jacket pocket and also a multi-tool which was discovered in Favour's rucksack.

Defence solicitor Stephen Morrison said it was his client's position that the multi-tool knife had been used to cut the tape.

"What he was doing with the sticky tape was making it double-sided so he could stick his mobile device on it so it was in front of him so he could view music videos," he said.

"There is a degree of naivety as far as he is concerned. His reply when being cautioned and charged seems to demonstrate a degree of ignorance. He appears to have much regret for becoming embroiled in this situation and in his appearance at court."

Sheriff Charles Macnair said he was prepared to deal with the offence by way of unpaid work rather than custody.

"I don't really accept anybody could not know that they couldn't carry a knife around with them nowadays," he said. "Carrying a knife is wholly unacceptable and particularly lock knives."

As well as placing him on a community payback order requiring him to do 120 hours of unpaid work within six months, he also ordered the forfeiture of the knife.