Inverness Sheriff Court told how man stamped on woman's head on New Year's Day

An assault by a man on his former partner in Inverness resulted in her having to be taken to Raigmore Hospital to be scanned for a head injury.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard Sean Maclean’s victim sustained grazing to her scalp and swelling to her face.

The 46-year-old admitted pushing the woman to the ground and stamping on her head on New Year’s Day this year outside his home in Madras Street, Inverness.

He also admitted behaving in a threatening manner at the city's Burnett Road police station on January 2, after his arrest, where he grabbed a table in an interview room and threw it.

Depute fiscal Callum Thomson said the couple had been in a four-and-a-half-year relationship and it appeared “it had somewhat rekindled”.

They met in Madras Street and witnesses who heard a woman screaming contacted the police.

During the incident at the police station, the court heard, officers in the interview room had to press a panic button to call on others to help restrain Maclean.

Sentence had been previously deferred for reports and solicitor Marc Dickson told the court Maclean had always accepted responsibility for his actions and was genuinely remorseful.

In the case of the assault, he said, Maclean had had too much to drink and the couple had disagreed over a holiday when Maclean told the woman he did not want to go with her.

He was placed on two years supervision and ordered to pay his victim £1000 compensation and to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.