Man cleared of assault

Girlfriend takes the blame

A Stonehouse man has been cleared of a serious assault on a woman – after his girlfriend took the blame.

Lesley Plain said she suffered a suspected broken cheekbone when James Campbell pinned her to the floor and delivered “seven rapid punches”.

Campbell denied carrying out the attack and blamed Clare Miller, alleging that Ms Plain had called her a “slapper” for turning up at a party in her underwear.

Campbell (34), of Patrickholme Avenue, was accused of assaulting Ms Plain to her severe injury and permanent impairment at his home on November 17 last year.

However, the trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court collapsed after Crown witness Ms Miller insisted she had assaulted her friend. Campbell was formally found not guilty.

Ms Plain (45) said she was living at another flat in the same street at the time of the alleged attack.

She was with Campbell’s girlfriend, Ms Miller, and others drinking in a neighbour’s flat.

Ms Miller was upset over the death of her father and became even more distressed when she learned that Campbell had let her dog Poppy out and the pet had gone missing.

Ms Plain explained: “I told Clare I would go with her back to her flat to make sure she was ok.

“Jim Campbell came out to the hall and Clare started shouting about her dog. There was a bit of shoving and pushing.

“Jim pulled me to the floor. He knelt on top of me – his knees were on my arms.

“Then he punched me rapidly, seven times around the eye. It was pure rage and I thought ‘If I’m going to die, please God let it be quick.’.

“But then he got off me and I walked out.”

The court heard doctors at first thought Ms Plain had a fractured cheekbone but a specialist disagreed. All the same, she suffered soreness for weeks and still has numbness on the side of her face.

Under questioning from Campbell’s lawyer, Elspeth Forrest, the witness admitted she’d lied to police and hospital staff about what had happened that night.

Despite her injury she’d gone back to her neighbour’s flat along with Ms Miller – who was wearing only a vest top and pants. The party continued, so much so that the police arrived to tell the revellers to cut the noise.

Officers spotted Plain had a black eye but she wouldn’t say how it had happened.

At hospital the next day she told staff she’d been attacked by an “unknown male” but later she went to Hamilton police station and named Campbell as the culprit.

Mrs Forrest told the witness: “You and Clare Miller were fighting after you called her a slapper for not having her leggings on. I suggest that’s how you got your injuries.”