A man is facing jail after he admitted leaving a woman scarred for life in a horrific incident at a Dundee nightclub.
Francis Monaghan launched a bottle into the air at Liquid on Ward Road which smashed into Debbie Strachan’s head, leaving her needing reconstructive surgery and 30 stitches.
She was initially forced to defend herself from accusations that the injuries were self-inflicted after nightclub officials said a review of CCTV footage showed her only falling against a banister and stairs.
Believing that police had not taken her complaint seriously, Mrs Strachan, 27, of Stirling, posted a picture of her injuries on Facebook.
The image, which showed extensive scarring across the left-hand side of her face as well as a horrendously bloodshot left eye, quickly went viral.
Debbie said her two daughters, Skye, 8, and Mirren, 3, were hysterical when they saw the injuries.
She said: “I told the youngest one a bad man had hurt mummy but for Skye it took a lot longer. Skye wouldn’t let me go anywhere near her.
“I will be scarred for life and the emotional and mental scarring is just as horrific.”
Mrs Strachan claims police failed to take her seriously immediately following the event early one Sunday morning despite her injuries.
She added: “The police closed the case in Dundee that night claiming I hit my head on the banister and fell.
“I was hit in the face by a male with either a bottle or a glass.
“I remember falling on to my hands and knees. There was a horrible ringing in my ears. Next thing I came to and I was being carried through the club by a bouncer.”
An ambulance arrived and Mrs Strachan says that as she was being taken into the vehicle a member of staff from the nightclub told her she had just fallen over.
She said: “I just remember telling everyone a guy had hit me in the face. My sister-in-law was crying and saying I looked like something from a horror film as my face was covered in blood.
“The back of my eye socket has been bruised, that’s how hard this guy hit me. The club say I fell but the first doctor said he pulled glass out of my face.”
The incident took place while Debbie, an administration student at Forth Valley College, was on a night out with her husband Robert, 26, her brother-in-law Kevin and his wife, and friends.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, Monaghan, 27, of Ochil Crescent in Stirling, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of culpable and reckless conduct committed on March 29.
The court heard he had previous convictions for other offences.
Sheriff Alastair Brown deferred sentence for social work background reports and released Monaghan on bail.