A Moray man was attacked with a hammer after he went to confront a young father about a childcare dispute, a court has heard.
Joel Clark, of Moray View, Glenlatterach hit him in the face with the weapon as he sat in his car on July 31 2021.
Clark then dragged the driver out of the vehicle, in which Clark’s ex-partner was a passenger and continued the attack.
However, Inverness Sheriff Court was told that the bruised and bleeding motorist managed to drive away to the police station and report the assault.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair said he was then taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with concussion.
Head, mouth and leg wounds
He also received several stitches to wounds in his head, mouth and legs as well as treatment for various cuts and bruises, the prosecutor added.
Clark, 25, admitted assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement at a house in Birnie, near Elgin.
He had sentence deferred for a background report and restriction of liberty order assessment.
His defence solicitor Brent Lockie urged Sheriff Sara Matheson not to jail his client due to the positive report.
‘An emotional response’
He said: “I find it surprising that he could be involved in this. He was threatened by people his ex-partner associates with and this was an emotional response to that threat.
“He is assessed as being of low risk of reoffending.”
Sheriff Matheson decided against jailing Clark, although she said that the threshold for custody had been met due to the seriousness of the offence.
She ordered him to carry out 225 hours of unpaid community work and imposed a six-month-long restriction on his liberty between 7pm and 7am.
But she warned Clark: “If you fail to comply, then custody is the likely outcome.”
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