An Aberdeen man battered his noisy neighbour with a baseball bat because he’d come to “the end of his tether”.
Ivor Walker, 48, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted assaulting his neighbour to his injury in that stairwell of a block of flats on Beattie Avenue, Aberdeen.
Walker repeatedly struck the man across the head, face, and body while also knocking him down a flight of stairs during a sustained baseball bat attack.
His solicitor told the court that the pair had been having an on-going disagreement for three years before Walker had come to “the end of his tether”.
Victim left with bruising and swelling
Fiscal depute Stephanie Cardow told the court that at around 5.50pm on August 3 2021 Walker’s neighbour knocked on his door after consuming a “large quantity” of alcohol to apologise about the noise.
However, when Walker answered the door, he struck his neighbour with a baseball bat causing him to fall down the flight of stairs between the first and the ground floor.
“While the complainer was crouched on the ground and the accused approached him and continued to strike him with the bat to his head,” Ms Cardow.
“Standing over the complainer, the accused repeatedly struck him with the baseball bat while shouting: ‘I’m going to kill you.'”
Walker eventually stopped the attack and his neighbour was able to escape by running out into Beattie Avenue.
Police and emergency services arrived at the scene and took Walker’s neighbour to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Upon being assessed, Walker’s victim was found to have bruising and swelling to his face and head and a number of lacerations on his scalp, which required to be glued shut.
Walker pleaded guilty to one charge of assault to injury.
‘No justification for you actions’
Defence solicitor Shane Campbell described his client’s actions as “clearly a very nasty and sustained assault”.
He went on to say that Walker and his neighbour had been embroiled in a long-term dispute for several years – with Walker complaining to the council’s social work department about noise, people in the hallway and drug paraphernalia being found.
“Mr Walker’s neighbour told him that if he did not retract his complaint then there would be consequences – he was very much at the end of his tether,” Mr Campbell said.
“He grabbed hold of the bat that was sitting in the hallway and the frustration of the previous years came to a head and he reacted in the manner of assault.”
Sheriff Eric Brown told Walker he had seen the photographs of what he had done to his neighbour and that the “injuries speak for themselves”.
He added: “I have no reason to doubt that you have suffered for a long period of time at the hand of the complainer but there is no justification for your actions against him.”
As an alternative to a custodial sentence, Sheriff Brown sentenced Walker, of Beattie Avenue, Aberdeen, to a community payback order with supervision for 12 months.
He also ordered Walker to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
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