Bottle attacker fined

A man who hit a fellow nightclub reveller with a bottle has avoided jail.

Lee Cattigan, of Fairgreen Place in Bannockburn, appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old issued a guilty plea to assaulting Steven MacAllister, under provocation, at the Fubar in Stirling on Christmas Eve of last year.

The court heard that the pair had become involved in a dispute after they bumped into each other on the stairwell.

Fiscal depute Laura Knox said that the pair had been separated by grappling when Cattigan struck the victim with a bottle.

She said:“The assistant manager witnessed the accused strike Mr MacAllister with a bottle.”

The man was left with a small bump on the back of his head, but did not require treatment.

Defending, Frazer McCready said that Cattigan had been on a Christmas night out, and had no intention to create trouble.

He said:“CCTV footage showed that it was the complainer that was the main aggressor. You could see that he was holding the accused by a hooded top.

“This was on the stairs and Mr Cattigan felt that he might be dragged down the stairs.”

Sheriff Wyllie Robertson issued Cattigan with a £750 fine, reduced from £1000 to reflect his early guilty plea, and said the assault could have been more serious.