Pensioner who punched boy in head escapes punishment

A pensioner who punched a 12-year-old boy in the head escaped punishment after a sheriff heard the accused is dying of cancer.

Douglas Wilkie, 67, of Beattie Gardens, Crieff, admitted assaulting the boy earlier this year after being woken up by a row but claimed he had been drinking and could remember nothing about it.

Perth Sheriff Court was told that Wilkie is terminally ill and Sheriff William Wood admonished him after being told he had stayed out of trouble since the attack.