A brave Dundee 79-year-old who fought off a drunken spade-wielding thug said he was “not in the least bit frightened” during the vicious attack.
Thomas McGovern was returning home from a night out with wife Margaret when Michael Smith, who had downed several bottles of tonic wine, launched the unprovoked assault.
Smith, 27, who was so drunk he woke up hours later in a police cell and asked staff why he was there, was jailed for a year at Dundee Sheriff Court on Monday.
Mr McGovern said: “He went to open my mate’s car door and I asked him what he was doing. He said: “What’s it got to do with you?” He was aggressive right from the first word that came out of his mouth.
“He said he had a machete. I told him to get a grip and that he was going to hospital. I wasn’t frightened, not in the least.
“He got me annoyed, there’s no doubt about that. I knew I was stronger than him. I thought, if I get a grip of this guy, I will hurt him.”
Smith, who has previous convictions for assault and drug offences, was found hiding under a hedge with the spade after attacking and threatening to kill Mr McGovern on Kinghorne Road last November.
Mrs McGovern, who witnessed the attack on her husband, said she was satisfied that Smith had received a jail term.
She said: “I think he deserves it he’s not going to do it to somebody else. He was jumping about all the time. I got really frightened.
“It’s terrible you don’t expect that at our age.”
Mr McGovern and his wife were being dropped off outside their house when Smith approached and attempted to open the car door.
The vehicle drove off and when Mr McGovern shouted at Smith, he responded: “Who the **** do you think you are? I have a machete in my jacket.”
Smith, who had never met the couple, then punched Mr McGovern in the face.
Mr McGovern staggered and fell into a hedge and Smith kicked him on the stomach.
Smith then repeatedly reached into his jacket and said: “I am going to get my machete and kill you.”
Fearing for his life, Mr McGovern grabbed a broom and attempted to hit Smith.
Smith armed himself with a spade and attempted to strike Mr McGovern, who held up his hand to try to stop the blow.
The police were called and Smith was found nearby with the spade, hiding under a hedge.
Smith’s solicitor Scott Norrie told Sheriff Elizabeth Munro: “No doubt your ladyship will have concerns about the social work report. His view is that he does not have an alcohol problem.
“He accepts he took excess alcohol on this occasion, but this was a somewhat isolated event.
“He has abstained since this and sees it as a wake-up call. He is embarrassed about assaulting an elderly gentleman.
“This incident is a huge jump from anything he has been in before.”
Smith, Fairbairn Street, admitted assault and a breach of the peace on November 13.
Sheriff Munro told him: “You received a community payback order for a previous assault and I won’t consider that again. Only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”