A best man who punched the groom for bringing an unknown woman back home after a boozy night out has been ordered to pay his friend £1,600 in compensation.
Callum Donald, 29, of Monifieth, went drinking with friend Michael Cox after the 27-year-old won £400 on a gambling machine.
The night turned sour when Mr Cox brought a new female friend back to Donald’s Brook Street flat.
In a “moment of madness” after he thought he saw the pair kissing in the kitchen, Donald thumped the husband-to-be, causing a broken ankle that left his victim off work for two months.
At Forfar Sheriff Court, Donald, of Beech Grove, admitted assault to severe injury in an incident his solicitor said was the result of a “sense of loyalty” to his friend and the bride-to-be.
The men had been “good friends” for seven years and Donald was asked to be Mr Cox’s best man when he got engaged two months before the incident.
Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy said the pair met up for a drink at the Vault pub in Monifieth on the evening of October 18 2013 before heading into a nightclub in Dundee.
Donald headed home, where his friend and the unknown woman later turned up. Ms Kennedy said Donald became unhappy with their presence and asked them to leave several times.
“When the complainer failed to leave the final time the accused approached and seized him by the clothing shouting at him to ‘get out’ before pushing him to the floor and punching him on the head,” she said.
Defence solicitor Nick Markowski said Donald believed Mr Cox and the woman were kissing in his kitchen. He said the assault was “a moment of madness” for his client.
“Needless to say the invitation to be best man was withdrawn,” he said.
Sheriff Pino di Emidio sentenced Donald to 190 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay £1,600 in compensation.