A birthday celebration ended in violence after a man assaulted his girlfriend in an Inverness hotel room.
Andrew McLeish and his partner had gone to the Leonardo Hotel in Inverness to mark his birthday.
But after drinking champagne McLeish assaulted the woman, causing her to call hotel staff for help.
McLeish, 35, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously admitted charges of domestic assault and threatening behaviour in relation to the incident on February 12 of this year.
Fiscal depute Shay Treanor told the court that McLeish and the woman had been in a relationship for seven months when they attended the hotel on Milburn Road Inverness.
He said: “At 8.30am employees at the hotel received a phone call from [the complainer] asking if the accused could be removed from the room.”
Woman shouted ‘let go of me’
Staff went to the room but were told to “f*** off” by McLeish and police were called.
When officers arrived they heard the woman shouting “let go of me” and “let go of my wrists”.
When they spoke to her she told them McLeish had “battered” her.
McLeish was arrested, cautioned and charged and taken to Burnett Road Police station.
As he was led away he kicked out at the woman and “struck a wall with his elbow in a generally aggressive manner”.
Defence solicitor Marc Dickson told the court: “Mr McLeish and his partner had gone to the hotel to celebrate his birthday.”
‘Generally aggressive’
“They had taken champagne and had frankly become very drunk,” he continued.
Mr Dickson said his client could not recall “with any clarity” the events that took place but “appeared genuinely ashamed”.
He told Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald that the complainer “sees some redemption” in his client and was “keen to continue the relationship”.
Sheriff MacDonald placed McLeish, of Gilbert Street, Inverness, on a community payback order with two years of supervision and a requirement to participate in the Caledonian Men’s Programme.
She told him: “This is to help people who commit domestic abuse offences – and this is you Mr McLeish, whether you like it or not.”
