Chef jailed for attack in drunken fit of rage

An Inverness chef who damaged a neighbour’s car with a sledgehammer in a drunken rage was jailed for 12 months yesterday.

Inverness Sheriff Court was told that Michael MacBeath, 31, believed that a “whispering campaign” was being conducted by certain individuals against him and inflicted the damage after his partner became upset by it.

Yesterday, Sheriff Margaret Neilson said she had no alternative but to imprison MacBeath because of his record of previous convictions.

Defence lawyer Clare Russell said: “He should have continued to ignore the individuals but he had consumed alcohol after his partner had

“Consumed alcohol after his partner had become upset”

become upset. He then only made matters worse.”

At an earlier hearing MacBeath admitted behaving in a threatening manner, brandishing a sledgehammer and repeatedly striking a vehicle in Carbisdale Gardens, Inverness, on July 23 before struggling violently with police.

The court heard a taxi driver looked out the window of his house in Inverness and saw MacBeath damaging both wing mirrors.

A struggle then ensued and the taxi driver, who said he didn’t know why MacBeath had vandalised his car, phoned the police.

When traced by police at 4.50pm – 40 minutes after the incident – Macbeath struggled violently as he was arrested.

He shouted threats to officers that he would kill them when he got to his feet.

Sentence had been deferred for a background report.