A man had to have a metal plate inserted in his cheek after being assaulted following a Halloween party Inverness Sheriff Court heard yesterday.
Kieran Shearer, 19, of 20 Dudgeon Drive, Brora, admitted punching Ian Matheson to his severe injury on October 27 last year at Lairg Road in Bonar Bridge.
The court heard that Mr Matheson had to have the metal plate and pins inserted after suffering a depressed fracture from the single punch.
Fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart told the court that there had been an altercation on the street, involving Mr Shearer, following a Halloween fancy dress party at the Dunroamin Hotel.
Mr Urquhart said: “Mr Matheson was not involved in the altercation. However, he stepped in to try and the calm the situation down and that was when the accused punched him on the face.”
The fiscal added that Mr Matheson had recovered well from his injuries but had been left with “altered sensations” in his mouth as a result.
Solicitor advocate Shahid Latif told Sheriff Margaret Neilson that his client had a “challenging” background which meant he had to “grow up extremely quickly”.
He added: “The circumstances suggest that he simply panicked and lashed out.
“I would stress that this was a single punch.”
Sheriff Neilson told Shearer she was imposing a community payback order as “a direct alternative to imprisonment.”
He was sentenced to an 18 month supervision order as well as 234 hours unpaid work.