Boozy night out lands assault yob in the dock He pays the price for punching men

A tanked- up lout who battered two men after a night out has dodged a jail sentence.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard earlier this week that Jack Burns flipped out and swung at the victims after a night of boozing.

The 2 0 - y e a r- o l d admitted lashing out at Kevin Wilson and Christopher Fletcher by punching them both on the head.

Fiscal depute Frank Clarke said the assault, which took place in New Street, Paisley near Vienna’s nightclub, kickedoff after a night out.

He told the court: “The offence took place at three o’clock in the early hours of August 14 last year.

“It was nearing the end of the night when Burns became involved in a heated argument with acquaintance Wilson.

“Burns pushed Wilson, and Fletcher, who is a friend of Wilson, saw it.

“Fletcher approached Burns and Burns then assaulted Fletcher by punching him on the head.”

The court heard the yob was nabbed by police when he was spotted fleeing the rammy.

Fiscal Clarke added: “He was arrested and was not formerly cautioned or charged.

“I can’t say if he was intoxicated as there are no details of medical assessment, but drink is thought to have been involved.”

Defence agent Kevin Brady said his client, who claims he was under the influence of alcohol, was ashamed of his behaviour and had expressed regret over the attack.

He said: “He was in Paisley with a group of pals and says he consumed too much alcohol.

“He has a haz y recollection of being involved in the argument.

“He tells me he is disgusted by his actions, especially as it is two separate accounts of assault, and insists that the behaviour was out of character for him.”

Sheriff Seith Ireland warned Burns, who stays in Buckie, Erskine, to be of better behaviour in future.

He said: “I come from the viewpoint that you are a first offender, but assault in a public street is completely unacceptable, the risk is seriously hurting someone else.

“But I will deal with it against the background that you were intoxicated, which is no excuse, but this may have caused you to behave out of character.

“For the first assault charge I would have imposed a £300 fine, but this will be reduced to £210, since you pled guilty at the earliest opportunity.

“You will be charged a total of £420 across both charges, payable at £20 per week.

“I suggest that you behave in the future.”

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