A Fife man stamped on his victim’s head during a savage attack as a child watched on, a court has heard.
Neil Beveridge, 36, assaulted his victim as he lay in a bed at his ex-partner’s home in Inverkeithing, on March 18 last year.
His victim suffered a head injury and multiple scrapes and cuts to his face.
He was arrested by police the next day and when asked what his intentions were in returning to the house, told them: “To smash his f***ing head in”.
Beveridge, of Woodside Street, Rosyth, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to plead guilty to repeatedly punching his victim on the head and repeatedly stamping on his head and body to his severe injury.
Fife man’s head stamp attack
Prosecutor Lee-Anne Barclay told the court Beveridge’s former partner, her friend and the complainer were at her house and drinking alcohol.
The court heard a child staying at the house had raised concerns to Beveridge about the man and claimed he had “swung for him”.
Beveridge went to his ex-partner’s house and upstairs, where both she and the man were sleeping in the bedroom.
The fiscal depute said: “He immediately began repeatedly punching (the man) to the head and body and then jumping on him, stamping on his head, all while the complainer was on the bed.”
The woman was woken by the sound of the man making a gasping noise and saw Beveridge in the room and his victim with blood all over his face, the court heard.
The fiscal depute said the child had seen the entire incident.
Hospital hostility
Beveridge left but returned because he was unable to find his car keys, Ms Barclay said.
She continued: “He tried to re-enter the bedroom to search for them but was prevented from doing so by (his former partner)” so he left on foot.
When police arrived, they found the injured man on the bed under the blood-stained covers.
Ms Barclay said: “He was observed to have blood coming from his mouth and ears, serious facial injuries and appeared to be drifting in and out of consciousness.”
The man was hostile to paramedics when they arrived, refusing to go on the stretcher and resisting help.
He was eventually taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he remained hostile to staff.
He initially claimed police had beaten him up and told a doctor examining him to “f**k off” when further questions were asked about what happened.
A doctor concluded the man’s injuries were not life-threatening.
Sentence deferred
The fiscal depute said forensic examination work took place at the scene.
Beveridge’s car keys were later found by his ex-partner in the bedroom.
When arrested the next day, he told police: “The boy was ‘vallied’ out his nut, drinking alcohol”.
The fiscal depute added: “Notably, when asked what his intention was when he was going back to (the woman’s) house, the accused replied: ‘to smash his f***ing head in”.
Sheriff John MacRitchie told Beveridge a prison sentence will be “uppermost in the mind of any sheriff” but acknowledged a plea in mitigation is still to be heard.
He deferred sentence until June 13 to obtain background reports and bail was continued.
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