Single punch can affect so many

Lyall Dick was not deemed responsible for killing Derek Wilkie when he appeared to answer assault charges at Perth Sheriff Court. The Fife construction worker was fined £600 on the basis that his single punch, brutal and unnecessary as it was, had caused Mr Wilkie a nosebleed and nothing more.

However, the former ghillie — at 59-years-old, 23 years senior to his attacker — was suffering a medical condition and collapsed and died a week later.

During a lengthy investigation, no causal link was established between the punch and Mr Wilkie’s passing.

It will never be known if he would still be alive had he not suffered such trauma.

What is clear, however, is that a family has lost a father and grandfather and the effect of that loss is devastating and lasting.

Lyall Dick may not have been guilty of causing his victim’s death but, in that respect, he is nothing better than lucky.

Any assault, even a single punch, can end a passion, a career or a life.

Accused and victim, as well as their family and friends, are left distraught and bereft.

Police Scotland has focused festive publicity efforts on the message that a single punch can have far-reaching consequences.

As we enter drink-fuelled Hogmanay, it is a warning worth heeding.