Off-shore worker found guilty of ‘serious assault’ in Thurso pub toilet
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A Thurso man has been convicted of an attack in a local pub which put a fellow customer off work for six weeks.
High-earning Michael Russell was fined £2000 after he was found guilty of the assault at Wick Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
The off-shore supervisor denied having kicked Gavin Souter on the head, once, and repeatedly kicked him on his body to his severe injury but was found guilty after a trial at Wick Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
Sheriff Neil Wilson saw CCTV footage that showed Russell following Mr Souter into the toilet at Top Joe's, on June 28, 2021, although the rule during Covid restrictions was "one-in, one out".
Mr Souter (56) said: "Russell accused me of bullying his sister at work. He punched me, knocked me to the floor and kicked me. I curled up to protect myself and told him to stop, but he carried on. He went to leave but decided to have one last kick before doing so."
Pub owner Scott Shearer entered the toilet after Mr Souter failed to appear and found him lying on the floor bleeding from one ear. He was given a lift to hospital and treated for multiple bruising and cracked ribs.
Mr Souter, who works at the Vulcan establishment, said that after a six-week spell off work, he made a phased return to his duties before resuming his normal shifts. Financially, it had cost him "a few thousand pounds" in earnings.
However, Russell, of Oldfield Terrace, Thurso, who entered a special defence of self-defence, gave a different version of events in the toilet.
He claimed that Mr Souter had made a rude comment to him and grabbed him.
Russell (45) said: "Souter was aggressive and I think he was boozy. His hands were flailing and he was trying to hit me. The only way I could get him off me was to punch him once in the face and once in the ribs in self-defence."
Police Constable Andrew Hardwick said that when he cautioned and charged Russell with the assault, the accused replied: “It was no more than a drunken scuffle."
Sheriff Wilson described Mr Souter's evidence as being both credible and reliable and found Russell guilty.
The sheriff told him: "I accept you are a first offender who has never been in trouble before but you have been found guilty of a serious assault which must be reflected in the penalty."
