A young Oban man who needed two operations on his jaw after being kicked in the face while unconscious said his attacker has not been jailed for long enough.
David Bruce, 24, of Glenmore Road, Oban was jailed for 15 months at Oban Sheriff Court yesterday. He previously pleaded guilty to assaulting Lorne Gillies to his severe injury.
Bruce repeatedly punched Mr Gillies on the head, causing him to fall to the ground and then kicked him on the face as he lay there.
Mr Gillies suffered a broken jaw and had to have an operation to have a metal plate put in his face following the attack, which took place at a taxi rank in Station Road, Oban, on September 26 last year. The plate became infected and he had to endure another operation.
Mr Gillies, a 23-year-old labourer, said: “I am relieved that he has been jailed but it is not long enough in my eyes. With good behaviour he will be out in seven months.
“The cold weather still affects my jaw and there is quite a loud clicking, which is sore. I had two operations and above my eye was stitched.
“Me and my girlfriend were out for dinner then we went to Skipinnish for a few. I wasn’t drunk. We were at the taxi rank. She went to get money and the next thing I woke up in hospital.
“I used to go out about once a month for a couple of beers. I don’t feel comfortable anymore in open areas.”
Sheriff Ruth Anderson QC said that while Bruce was a first offender and of previous good character, he had carried out an “unprovoked attack”.
She said: “You gave him one almighty kick on the face when he was prone having been assaulted by you and may well at that point have been unconscious.
“There is no realistic disposal other than one of custody.”
Fiscal Eoin McGinty previously told the court that Mr Gillies had been approached by Bruce while standing alone at the taxi rank in the early hours of the morning following a night out with his girlfriend.
Solicitor Kevin MacGuinness said Bruce was “plagued with guilt” at what he had done.
He said: “He accepts whole-heartedly that the violence which he is guilty of on no account was in any way acceptable. He is very remorseful about the injuries he inflicted upon the complainer.”
However, he said Mr Gillies had a previous short relationship with Bruce’s fiancee and that Bruce had felt hostility from Mr Gillies over the years as a result.
Mr Gillies said this was “rubbish”.