A thug who stomped on a man in the centre of Inverness left the imprint of a shoe on his victim’s face, a court has heard.
The attacker, Christopher Sturrock, was identified after a city centre shop worker photographed him in the moments after the brutal assault, which knocked out the man.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told the incident happened on the morning of July 4 last year in High Street about 9.05am when 41-year-old Sturrock saw his victim and both began to struggle.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told Sheriff Gary Aitken that Sturrock threw the man to the ground.
“He hit his head on the concrete rendering him unconscious and then he stomped on his head with what appeared to be a degree of force,” she said. “Then he kicked him on the body.
Victim still unconscious when he arrived at hospital
“He fled the locus on his bike but a staff member from a local shop took his photograph.”
Mrs Gair said this enabled the police to trace and arrest Sturrock later in the day.
The court heard that the injured man was taken to accident and emergency in Raigmore Hospital still unconscious.
“He had a shoe mark to the right side of his face,” Mrs Gair added.
Sturrock, of Millerton Avenue, Inverness, admitted assault to injury and danger of life.
Sentence was deferred until July 23 for a background report and restriction of liberty order assessment.
Sturrock’s bail was continued.