A MAN who appeared in the dock wearing shorts has been warned he risked a possible jail sentence for contempt of court.

Darren Dixon had to apologise for his attire when he was reprimanded for wearing a blue t-shirt and long blue shorts to his hearing at Selkirk Sheriff Court.

The rebuke came as temperatures reached 24 centigrade on the hottest day of the year in Scotland.

After the 27-year-old pleaded guilty to damaging his former partner's computer, Sheriff Peter Paterson warned: "If you turn up to court in shorts again you will be held in contempt of court. It is completely unacceptable."

The court had heard how Dixon, of Galashiels, Selkirkshire, had been in a row with his then girlfriend, Toni Boone, over a George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine.

The court heard Dixon grabbed hold of the portable computer and broke it against his knee before throwing it out of the window of their house on April 20.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said:"They had been together for four years and their relationship can be described as up and down There is no excuse for this behaviour."

Defence lawyer Ross Dow admitted it was "an unsavoury incident" and Dixson was fined £125, with his partner to receive £100 in compensation.

The Scottish Courts Service's website states:"Regardless of why you are attending court, it is best to be dressed smartly and relatively formally."

In June 2010, a 20-year-old man was ordered home and get changed after he appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court court wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a cartoon of a man in shorts which exposed his private parts.

Sheriff Andrew Berry told Stephen Coffey, who was charged with taking a car without the owner's consent: "If it happens again, you will find yourself in contempt. This is an extremely serious matter."

His solicitor, John McColl, apologising for him, added: "Clearly it was not appropriate attire for court purposes."

The charge was eventually deserted and he walked free.

Earlier this week, Naked Rambler Stephen Gough appeared at the Court of Appeal in London via videolink in his traditional state of undress.

The court heard that any such appearance in person at the court, would have incurred Gough another conviction for anti-social behaviour.

Throwing out an appeal against an earlier conviction, Lady Justice Rafferty said: "In our judgment, were the defendant to have appeared naked in front of the court it would have been a further breach of the anti-social behaviour order."

The judge admitted that such a scenario was a "bizarre notion."