A bigot who spat in his neighbour's face while calling him a 'dirty orange b******' has been forced to pay him almost £800 in compensation.
Paul McNiven hurled sectarian abuse at Thomas Campbell outside his home after objecting to a flag he was flying in his garden, a court heard.
After the abuse, a shocked Campbell asked the 60-year-old to leave, but was left disgusted when he was spat on.
Police were called and McNiven became 'hostile' towards them before being arrested outside his home in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
But as he was being led to their police car, he shouted "I will get you, ya dirty Orange b******" toward his victim, and continued making the slurs as he was driven to nearby Motherwell police station.
Appearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court today, McNiven admitted assault and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner in the Newmains area in March last year, Glasgow Live reports.
Sheriff Linda Nicolson tagged McNiven for 29 weeks and ordered him to pay Campbell a total of £792 compensation.
Depute fiscal Chloe O'Hara told the court: "The accused was heard to shout towards his neighbour 'you Orange b*****d, get that f****** flag down you dirty Orange b******.'
"The complainer also attended at the door of his property and asked the accused to leave, but he refused to do so and spat on his face while continuing to shout and swear at him.
"He closed the door and contacted the police."
At the time of the attack, another neighbour also heard the accused repeatedly shout 'Orange b******'.
Officers were called to the scene, where they found McNiven in his own front garden, where he appeared to be 'heavily intoxicated'.
The prosecutor added: "Police informed the accused he was under arrest and he became hostile to officers and was conveyed to a marked police vehicle where he continued to shout to the complainer."
During mitigation, defence lawyer Nicholas Nimmo said: "He is deeply ashamed of his behaviour and accepts full responsibility for it.
"He couldn't apologise to his neighbour because of these proceedings but does wish to do so as soon as possible.
"This was clearly out of character for him and he would not normally behave in this manner."
No details of the flag were given in court.
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