Man narrowly avoids jail for birthday attacks

Kieran Morris assaulted two people after day of drinking turned to violence

An Angus man has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work after an attack left one of his victims with a fractured eye socket.

Kieran Morris, whose address was given as Thornton Park, Forfar, was sentenced at the town’s sheriff court yesterday after he was previously convicted of carrying out two assaults.

Trouble flared after a day of drinking to mark his 22nd birthday descended into drunken violence on September 16.

Morris had become concerned about his girlfriend when he returned to the town centre after going home to change, and it was while he was looking for her that the two assaults occurred, the town’s sheriff court heard.

The first attack outside the Old Masons pub involved a single punch, but his victim fell to the ground and knocked his head on the pavement.

Several days after the incident, a CT scan revealed a subdural haemorrhage and cerebral contusions, along with a fracture of the skull and a slight fracture of the right eye socket.

Morris was picked up by police after a second scuffle outside the town’s Royal nightclub, with both incidents captured on CCTV.

The second victim was not seriously injured.

Sheriff Kevin Veal warned Morris he could be facing jail at his last court appearance but yesterday Sheriff Jillian Martin-brown said she had decided on a non-custodial option.

Defence solicitor, Craig Scott, said Morris was now in full-time employment at a game factory, noting that “this type of industry is very busy at this time of year”.

He was concerned about his girlfriend at the time”, he added.

The sheriff said Morris had shown a “huge level of empathy” towards his victims, but nevertheless had come “very close to a custodial sentence”.

smilne@thecourier.co.uk