A man who attacked a fellow reveller while dressed as a clown was caught hiding behind a bin after police spotted his giant bow-tie.
Lee Craig had been clad in fancy dress when he hit the town on February 26 this year.
But the 27-year-old lashed out while in a city centre takeaway after someone tried to steal his clown’s hat.
Craig, who had been at the darts that evening, repeatedly punched Steven Quirie until he broke his nose.
Then he ran away and hid in an enclosure behind some bins.
Officers later tracked down the thug, who has a string of previous convictions for assault, when they spotted his giant bow-tie within the enclosure. They also noticed the clown costume had been thrown away nearby.
Yesterday, Craig appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted attacking Mr Quirie and leaving him severely injured.
Fiscal depute Lixia Sim said police had been informed of the incident after it was captured on CCTV.
She said officers were sent to trace Craig, and spotted him in a car park hiding behind a bin enclosure.
She said: “He was still wearing his large bow-tie which was part of the clown fancy dress costume. Police officers also noticed the clown costume lying on the road near to the car park.”
The court heard Mr Quirie and his friends flew out of the city on holiday the following day and no official complaints were made.
However, when he returned he went to A&E as he was not feeling well. The court heard Mr Quirie had been struggling to eat and had difficulties with his vision.
Doctors discovered that he had fractured the bone between his nose and one of his cheeks and surgeons operated, inserting a metal plate into his face.
Defence lawyer Keidra Morrison told the court that her client had ended up in an argument with one of Mr Quirie’s friends who had taken his clown hat off his head.
The court heard that he had a history of assaults on his criminal record.
Sheriff Graeme Napier warned him that he was facing a jail sentence, and said: “You’re obviously a violent individual.”
