A thug who hacked off a chunk of a man's ear with a blade amid claims he had threatened his mother has been spared jail and ordered to pay his victim £500. Alan Hulston, 55, pounced on Andrew Cunningham outside his flat in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.
The pair had earlier exchanged words on the street, but when Cunningham returned home the yob was waiting outside his door. Cunningham turned in a bid to flee the scene but was struck by a "sharp implement" on the side of his head.
He desperately tried other flat doors in the close before he eventually found safety after bursting into a property. The residents of the flat could "see daylight" through the top of Cunningham's ear and gave him a towel to stem the blood flow until an ambulance arrived.
An investigation discovered CCTV footage, which showed Hulston pursuing his victim towards shops moments before the attack. Cunningham, who needed staples to heal the wound, later identified his attacker and he was charged.
Hulston, a full time carer for his mum, pled not guilty and went on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court. A jury took two hours to convict him of the assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement in August 2020.
He has now been ordered to carry out 240 hours unpaid work by Sheriff Colin Dunipace who also tagged him for the next eight months. Giving evidence Cunningham told how he had to burst into a stranger's flat after being ambushed by Hulston.
He said: "I got to the flats and dropped milk off to my neighbour and then went up the stairs and I saw him standing at my door waiting on me. He flew towards me and I started running down the stairs and that's when I felt my ear go numb.
"My ear had been cut and it must have been hit with a sharp implement, it was sliced in half and a chunk couldn't be saved. It's still sore now and I get pain going through it."
In evidence Hulston, of Hamilton, insisted he was not the man responsible for the attack and was not present when the incident took place. He claimed Cunningham had threatened his elderly mother and wanted a word with him so had approached him in the street but then returned home.
Hulston added: "Andrew was intoxicated and shouted something about wanting to kick my mum's door in. I was going to speak to him about it but there was no talking to him.
"Just because you have a disagreement with someone it doesn't mean you're going to hurt them and I never did anything, this is nonsense."
Jackson Bateman, defending, said: "He was frustrated. It was in the midst of the pandemic and there had been some difficulty with the neighbour in question. He appreciates that this kind of thing shouldn't be happening."
Sheriff Dunipace said: "It is only your relative lack of record that is keeping you out of prison."
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