Highland man who stamped on victim’s head during brutal attack jailed

A 22-year-old Alness man who stamped on his victim’s head during a vicious attack was jailed for 18 months yesterday.

Ian Grant was found guilty by a jury’s majority of punching, kicking and stamping on 20-year-old waiter Sky Urquhart to his severe injury in Inverness in February.

Sentence had been deferred for a background report.

Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood backdated it to February 20 when Grant was taken into custody. He told Grant: “You have a long record for a 23 year old man. It would be irresponsible of me not to impose a custodial sentence for this offence.”

An allegation that Grant also used a police-style baton on his victim was removed from the charge by the jury.

Mr Urquhart’s 19 year old niece Elizabeth Jones, also from Alness, made a frantic 999 call in the early hours of February 18 which the jury listened to twice.

She told a police operator that her uncle had been attacked by Grant, a former boyfriend, on the Greig Street Bridge in Inverness.

Ms Jones was heard to say that Mr Urquhart’s head was pouring with blood and he wasn’t moving.

She told the jury: “I thought he was dead. There was blood everywhere.”