An attacker who floored his victim with a single punch in Inverness has been spared jail.
Jack Cunningham knocked the man unconscious and left him needing eight stitches after the attack on Union Street in Inverness.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told Cunningham, 19, had “lost his temper” after the other man made his “life a misery”, forcing him to move home.
Cunningham appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a charge of assault in relation to the incident on November 23 2022, as well as a charge of failing to appear at a separate hearing.
Fiscal depute David Morton told the court that it was around 5pm when the two men encountered each other Union Street in Inverness.
Explaining that the incident was caught on CCTV as well as being witnessed by a worker in the area, he said: “There are some words exchanged before Mr Cunningham throws a single punch.”
Mr Morton said the punch connected with the victim’s forehead causing him “to fall backwards to the ground and briefly lose consciousness”.
Victim needed eight stitches after being attacked on Inverness street
The man was taken to Raigmore Hospital where he received eight stitches.
“It was a very short incident – a single punch incident that caused him to fall literally flat on the pavement,” the fiscal depute concluded.
Solicitor John MacColl, for Cunningham, told Sheriff Sara Matheson: “There is a background to the offence.
“The complainer in this case is somebody that was known to Mr Cunningham.”
He claimed that his client had been forced to move out of his property after the complainer had repeatedly turned up threatening violence and making Cunningham’s “life a misery”.
As a result, when he saw the man in the street he had: “Lost his temper and struck him once.”
Mr MacColl said: “CCTV shows there that there is a single punch, quite a good punch as it turns out it.”
Sheriff Matheson placed Cunningham, of Union Street, Inverness, on a community payback order, requiring him to complete 90 hours of unpaid work in the community within six months.
