A violent offender who assaulted a relative with a steak fork and a vacuum cleaner has been jailed for 14 months.
Almost insensible through drink, Nicholas Johnstone dragged the utensil across Andrew Cameron’s face and then repeatedly struck him on the head and body with the household appliance.
He fell asleep moments after the assault, enabling his victim to leave and report the attack to the police.
Officers found the 30-year-old fast asleep in the living room of his relative’s property in Perth’s Kinnoull Street, with his weapons of choice lying discarded on the floor next to him.
Both parties had been drinking heavily throughout the day, with their consumption said to have include several bottles of beer, a quarter of a bottle of vodka and a quantity of Buckfast.
Perth Sheriff Court heard that the pair were close enough to spend the day together, but that an argument had broken out as they made their way to Mr Cameron’s home.
“Once back within the house, the accused ran a steak fork across the complainer’s face and then repeatedly struck him on the head and body with the tube of his vacuum cleaner,” said depute fiscal Carol White.
The blows were said to have been so powerful that the vacuum cleaner broke.
Mr Cameron, 29, attended at hospital, having sustained numerous injuries to his face and body as a result of the attack, but did not require treatment.
Neither party was said to recollect what had sparked the argument.
Johnstone, described as a prisoner at Perth, admitted assaulting Mr Cameron to his injury on May 16 this year.
Solicitor David Holmes accepted that his client had a long-standing problem with alcohol, which had driven his previous offending, including convictions for breach of the peace and assault.
He described the latest offence as “regrettable”, adding that Johnstone had “little memory” of what had occurred.
Sentencing Johnstone to a period in custody, Sheriff Michael Fletcher said: “The most serious aspect of this is that you used two separate weapons. You also have a record that includes assaults and various other violent offences.”
The sheriff told him: “I cannot deal with this in any way other than a custodial sentence.”