Fife mother avoids jail after hitting man over the head with bottle

COURT: Victim left disfigured after savage alcoholfuelled attack

A mother of five who left a man permanently disfigured after hitting him on the head with a broken bottle has avoided being jailed.

Charmaine Brown appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court yesterday after previously admitting the savage attack, which took place on August 19 last year.

The 25-year-old attacked her victim Barry Simpson at an address on Adamson Crescent in Dunfermline during an alcohol-fuelled row.

Sheriff James Williamson ordered Brown to carry out 225 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.

The court was told how victim Barry Simpson suffered two lacerations on the back of his head during the incident.

Defence solicitor Christine Hagan explained the victim had needed five staples to close one of the wounds, which was 5cm in length.

She added: “It would leave a scar on the back of his head but it wouldn’t be entirely visible due to his hair.”

Miss Hagan said her client “cannot remember exactly how it happened” and that she can only remember the beginning and the end of the attack.

She said that her client was not meant to consume alcohol when taking medication but had done so prior to the assault. She said Brown no longer drank.

The defence agent added: “I appreciate it is a serious matter and so does Miss Brown.

“She does not have a serious history of offending.”

Sheriff Williamson also ordered Brown to complete 18 months of supervision and said: “If you breach the order in any way, you will be brought back to court and face going into custody.”

Brown, formerly of Dunfermline, was originally charged with hitting a second man with a bottle during the same incident but had her not guilty plea accepted by the Crown.

She was also accused of producing cannabis and being in possession of the class B drug at Dunfermline Police Station.

Her not guilty pleas to those additional charges were also accepted by the Crown.

It would leave a scar on the back of his head. DEFENCE SOLICITOR CHRISTINE HAGAN