Brutal attack on friend

A man was knocked unconscious when a pal attacked him after a drinking session in a Motherwell flat.

Slawomir Szczachor had fallen asleep in the bathroom and lashed out because the victim woke him up. The 39-year-old appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court last week.

He admitted assaulting the 65-year-old man to the danger of his life in Dalziel Tower, pictured, on January 20, 2020.

The court heard Szczachor, also of Dalziel Tower, the victim and a man aged 67 had been drinking during the evening and into the early hours of the morning.

The older men had been friends with the accused for around 12 years.

Vish Kathuria, prosecuting, said:“the accused ended up going into the bathroom where he fell asleep for approximately two hours.

“The 65-year-old man tried to wake him and the accused became irate with him. Back in the living room, he grabbed the man by the jumper and punched him on the face and the back of the head.

“This caused the man to fall and while he was lying on the floor Szczachor punched and kicked him repeatedly on the head and body while shouting ‘I’ll kill you’.

“The man lost consciousness and the other friend shouted at the accused to stop and he did.

“The victim could not be roused initially but regained consciousness after a few minutes.

“Police officers arrived about 4.45am and saw the victim had bruising and swelling to his face as well as a bleeding nose.

“Szczachor had fresh cuts to his knuckles.”

The victim was taken to hospital where doctors found he had a burst blood vessel in his eye. A scan revealed no broken bones and he was discharged with the standard head injury advice.

Sheriff Martin Jones deferred sentence on Szczachor, who is currently under supervision for another matter, until next month for background reports.