A thug who attacked a fellow reveller while dressed as a clown has been spared jail – so he can be at his mother’s wedding.
Lee Craig was clad in full fancy dress when he hit the town after a night at a darts event.
But the 27-year-old ended up lashing out at a fellow arrows fan during a takeaway punch-up after someone tried to steal his jester’s hat.
Craig repeatedly punched Steven Quirie – who had also been at the darts – and broke his nose.
He then went on the run, before officers cornered him cowering in a bin enclosure.
Craig had ditched his costume – but police were able to identify him by the giant bow-tie still hanging round his neck.
Yesterday, Craig appeared from custody at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for sentence, having previously admitted the city-centre assault.
His agent, solicitor Keidra Morrison, pleaded with Sheriff Graeme Napier to spare him jail as his mum was getting married in the afternoon.
She said: “Mr Craig’s mother is to be married at 2.30pm today.
“It would mean a lot to her for her son to be there.
“He obviously is in a position to pay compensation.
“He has £1,000 sitting there and he can pay more money on a monthly basis.”
The court heard previously that Mr Quirie and his friends had gone on holiday the day after the assault and no official complaints were made.
However, when he returned to the city he went to accident and emergency as he was feeling unwell.
The court heard Mr Quirie had been struggling to eat and had vision problems.
Doctors discovered a fracture in the bone between his nose and one of his cheeks.
Surgeons had to operate and insert a metal plate into his face.
The assault, which happened in the city’s Bath Street on February 26, was captured on CCTV.
Sheriff Napier said that because Craig, who has previous convictions for assault, had been on remand for several months he was willing to spare him further time behind bars.
He ordered him to pay his victim £1,750 in compensation.
A restriction of liberty order will confine him to home between 9pm-6am, and he will be under supervision for 12 months.
Craig, of Aberdeen, will also have to carry out 100 hours unpaid work in the community.
The sheriff added: “The reports before me suggest you have taken a long, hard look at your life.
“You appreciate that I would have been justified in imposing a long custodial sentence.
“If you breach the order you will come back here and I will be sending you to jail.”
