Court hears man who knocked friend unconscious 'exceptionally lucky' not to be facing murder charge
Last updated 16th Oct 2023
A 23-year-old man who knocked his friend unconscious following a night out in the Borders has been warned he's "exceptionally lucky" not to be facing a murder charge.
Fraser Anderson and Callum Gregson had been at the Gordon Arms Hotel in West Linton on July 22nd when there was an exchange of words, and Anderson was overheard to say: "I could smash you."
Around twenty past midnight, the following morning, as customers dispersed onto Dolphinton Road, Selkirk Sheriff Court heard another verbal altercation took place.
Anderson, from Soonhope Farm Holdings, Peebles, then assaulted Mr Gregson by striking him on the head, causing him to fall to the ground and lose consciousness - to his severe injury.
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Emergency services raced to the scene after the alarm was raised, and Mr Gregson was found to have suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
Anderson - who is employed as a tree planter - told police: "I didn't mean to hit him that hard. He must have hit his head on the concrete."
His solicitor, Liam Alexander, said it was a "one-off" incident and his client had since contacted Mr Gregson to apologise. He added his client was "exceptionally lucky" it hadn't escalated into a murder case, adding: "This has given him a real scare."
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Passing sentence, Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss said he was glad to hear Anderson had gotten a fright, adding he was aware of cases where someone's been killed by a single punch.
He warned him the custodial threshold had been crossed, but he hoped it had been a lesson learned and instead ordered him to pay his victim £1,000 compensation.
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