A fish factory worker who attacked an older man at his static caravan home was yesterday jailed for six months.
Danny Bell went into a rage during a late night drinking session at 62-year-old Malcolm King’s property on the edge of Fraserburgh.
Yesterday, Bell went on trial at Peterhead Sheriff Court. He denied a charge that he punched Mr King in the face in the early hours of June 29, last year.
But Sheriff Andrew Miller convicted 29-year-old Bell, of 6 Springbells Road, Annan, after hearing evidence from Mr King and his wife, Alice.
Both said that Bell, who works at a local fish factory, struck Mr King and then pulled a knife on him, although there was no mention of a blade in the charge he was found guilty of.
The court heard that Mr and Mrs King had been out celebrating a birthday in Fraserburgh. At the end of the evening, Mr King spoke to Bell and another man and invited them back to their home at Mid Gash, about two miles out of town.
Mr King, who admitted he had had “a good drink”, said he had met both men for the first time that night. The court heard that the Kings were living in a static caravan while their new home was under construction.
Mr King told the court that he was standing at the door of the caravan when he was approached by Bell. “He came up to the door and called me a pervert, then he punched me in the face.”
Mr King said he wasn’t hurt. “He went back to the kitchen and picked up a small kitchen knife and threatened me with it.”
Mrs King, 56, said she called the police when she heard her husband get hit.
The care worker said Bell had become aggressive towards the end of the night. “I just panicked because my husband’s not a fighter. I just wanted to nip this in the bud.”
Mrs King told the court that Bell said he was going to knife her husband and began rummaging through a kitchen drawer.
Jailing Bell, Sheriff Miller said: “I take into account the fact that this assault appears to have been at the lower end of the scale of seriousness.
“But I also have to take account that you have a record which includes convictions for assault and violence.”
