A Fife man who repeatedly stamped on his victim’s head during a “brutal” and “planned” attack has narrowly avoided a jail sentence.
Neil Beveridge, 36, assaulted a man 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.
Beveridge, of Woodside Street, Rosyth, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to repeatedly punching the man on the head and repeatedly stamping on his head and body to his severe injury.
Sheriff Martin Edington described it as a “brutal assault”.
He sentenced Beveridge to a year-long restriction of liberty order (9pm-9am daily), two years of offender supervision and made a £500 compensation order.
The sheriff told Beveridge: “This was planned.
“You went deliberately to attack this man.
“You did attack him and, furthermore, attacked him while he was asleep.
“It’s with considerable hesitation I have come to the conclusion that by the narrowest of margins you will escape a prison sentence.”
Head stamp
Prosecutor Lee-Anne Barclay told the court previously 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.
The fiscal depute said the child had seen the entire incident.
When police arrived, they found the injured man on the bed under 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.”
‘Vallied out his nut’
The injured man was hostile to paramedics and hospital 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.
When arrested the next day, Beveridge 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.”
Beveridge’s defence counsel pointed out her client reacted to a situation involving a worried child.
The lawyer described Beveridge’s previous offending as “minor” and highlighted a social work report identified him as being at low risk of reoffending.
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