Sheriff orders chef to do 200 hours of community service as an alternative to going to prison

Brawl after Hogmanay street party lands man in court

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Assaulting two men, breaking the peace and struggling with police following a Hogmanay street party in an Easter Ross town yesterday landed a local man with 200 hours of community service.

Sentencing Daniel McKenna, 21, at Tain Sheriff Court yesterday, Sheriff David Sutherland told him he was imposing the community service order as a direct alternative to imprisonment.

McKenna, a chef, formerly of 27 Mansfield Estate, Tain, but now living at Flat 375, 211 Wellshot Road, Tollcross, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to assaulting Duncan Winston by pushing him to his injury, assaulting John Hutton by repeatedly punching him to the head to his injury and struggling violently with two police officers.

All three offences were committed in Drummond Street, Tain, in the early hours of January 1 this year. He also admitted causing a breach of the peace by shouting, swearing and threatening violence at Tower Street, Tain, on the same date.

And McKenna and Greig Sutherland, 20, of 84 Mansfield Estate, both pleaded guilty to assaulting Robert Runciman by repeatedly butting and punching him to the head to his injury at Lamington Street, Tain, on April 5 this year.

McKenna was fined £600 and Sutherland was fined £500, and they were each ordered to pay £250 compensation to their victim.

Roderick Urquhart, representing McKenna, said on both occasions his client had been out drinking heavily in Tain and then got involved in altercations that had already started. He said the offences on New Year’s Day occurred because he heard that his brother had been involved in fight and believed Mr Winston to have been involved in this incident.

Mr Urquhart said McKenna went to push Mr Winston but, in his drunken state, ended up hitting him in the face. He added that his client did not know why he assaulted Mr Hutton. The defence solicitor said McKenna had since stopped drinking.

David Hingston, representing Sutherland, said his client had assaulted Mr Runciman because he refused to stop his girlfriend fighting with Sutherland’s girlfriend.