A RANGERS fan who urged people on Facebook to "send mair bombs and bullets" to former Celtic boss Neil Lennon has had his prison sentence quashed.

William Kilpatrick, 23, was jailed for nine months at Stirling Sheriff Court in October last year for posting the offensive remark on the social networking website in April 2011.

The post - which was made from his mobile phone on the day of an Old Firm match - came around the time bombs and bullets were being sent to Mr Lennon and the late Paul McBride QC, a high-profile Celtic supporter,

At the Appeal Court in Edinburgh, judges Lord Carloway, Lord Brodie and Lord Philip set aside Kilpatrick's prison sentence for breach of the peace. He was fined £500 instead.

Kilpatrick, of Bannock-burn, Stirlingshire, was jailed by Sheriff Wyllie Robertson last year but the Rangers fan was granted bail after spending three weeks in prison. During his trial, the court heard that the butcher's comments were reported to police by a concerned colleague at a branch of Morrison's in Stirling.

The colleague, Richard, Heggie, 25, told the court that he had been placed in a state of fear and alarm by the comment.