Moray teenager from Keith spared custody for hammer attack in Buckie

A Keith teenager who attacked an intoxicated man in Buckie with a hammer will have to wear an electronic tag for the next nine months.

The teenager, who’s now aged 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons, pulled the weapon out of his rucksack, then stuck his victim twice on the head, fracturing his skull.

The rucksack was later abandoned following the attack on East Church Street during the afternoon of April 1 last year.

When found by the police a knife was also discovered inside.

Upon his arrest, the teenager said: “The guy came towards me. He had something wrong with him. I pulled it out (the hammer) and hit him.

"If I wanted to kill him I would have kept going. I was scared. He was still moving when I left."

Fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh told Inverness Sheriff Court that the pair were at a cash machine near a bus stop "when, for an unknown reason, words were exchanged”.

The prosecutor added: "Both became aggressive. They exchanged punches. The accused pulled the hammer out of his rucksack and struck the man twice, causing him to fall to the pavement.

"The accused walked away and the complainer got up in an aggressive manner but was held back by witnesses. He had a fractured skull, a one inch laceration to his head and bruising to his brain."

Robert Cruickshank, the teenager’s defence solicitor, said: "He felt threatened. He regrets it and realises he went too far. Things got out of hand."

The teenager, during an earlier appearance at the same court, had already admitted having the blade in a public place without a reasonable excuse. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting the man to his severe injury and danger of his life.

Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald heard that the teenageer had been a first-time offender when the attack happened, but has since been placed on a community payback order in relation to a subsequent incident.

As an alternative to custody she ordered him to stay indoors at home from 7pm to 7am for the next nine months.

In addition, the teenager will have to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work for the community.

Sheriff Macdonald told the youth: "This is exceptionally grave – an offence of significant violence. The public needs some protection and you need some support.

“If you were over 25 you would go to jail for several years. But you are getting a tenancy and staying out of trouble plus there is the support of your parents.”