A man has been jailed for three years for a brutal attack that put his partner in hospital for eight nights with a broken arm and a bleed on the brain.
Ian Grant’s victim needed stitches and was left with hearing problems after he knocked her to the ground with a pram before repeatedly kicking her in the head.
Police were called to the scene by neighbours, who heard the commotion and found the women “covered in blood”.
Grant, 27, appeared via videolink at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a single charge of assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and danger to life in relation to the incident at the end of July last year.
Fiscal depute Martina Eastwood said that on July 30 the pair had spent the evening at a friend’s house where there had been a disagreement.
When they returned to their Inverness home just after midnight on July 31 the situation escalated, with Grant attacking the woman.
Man struck partner with pram
Ms Eastwood said: “Upon arrival in the house the accused entered the living room, picked up a pram and struck the complainer with it.
“She fell onto the couch and then to the floor where he kicked her repeatedly to the head. She attempted to block the kicks with her arms unsuccessfully, she then fled upstairs.”
Neighbours heard banging and shouting from the property and could hear the complainer shouting for her attacker to “stop it”.
“The complainer went to one of the neighbours’ doors and was seen to be covered in blood,” Ms Eastwood told the court.
A neighbour contacted police and the woman was taken to hospital by ambulance with a broken and dislocated bone in her arm, which required surgery.
Attack victim suffered bleed on brain
She had severe bruising and swelling to her face and neck and a cut on her head needed stitching. A CT scan revealed a small bleed on her brain, which did not require treatment.
Her left ear was also bruised and she reported ongoing hearing issues following the incident.
The woman was kept in hospital for eight nights following the attack.
Solicitor Graham Mann said his client “accepted his culpability” for the attack.
“He makes no excuses at all for his conduct,” he said.
“There had been a disagreement that related to an intimate matter between the parties, certain disclosure had been made to him. He was upset.”
The defence solicitor added that his client had been involved in a serious motorcycle crash in 2021 after which the complainer had reported that “his conduct and particularly his temper had worsened”.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Grant: “You tendered a plea of guilty to charge three, that is a very serious assault on your partner.
“The assault here was so brutal it led to the complainer being kept in hospital for eight days.
“The only way this matter can be dealt with is by the imposition of a custodial sentence.”
He jailed Grant for three years and imposed a four-year non-harassment order preventing him from approaching or contacting the woman.
