A THUG who kicked a man on his head after the victim was dragged to the ground by his co-accused has avoided jail.

Darren Sinclair appeared in the dock at Glasgow Sheriff Court following the serious assault that took place on June 7 last year on Clyde Street, in the city centre.

His co-accused was excused from court and will return for sentencing next month.

The prosecutor said: “At 7.45pm, witnesses became aware of a young male on the ground and a large crowd gathering around him.

“They had concerns about the young male. One of the witnesses attended to the young man but others began to argue with him.

“The accused became aggressive with the man. As the man made attempts to make off, the co-accused gave chase and took him to the ground.

“Once on the ground, the accused used his left foot, which had a foot brace on, to kick with his heel the head of the man, before others pulled him away.

“The co-accused then used his right leg to kick downwards to the man’s body. As the man made attempts to escape, a 35cl glass bottle was thrown in his direction and narrowly missed his head.

“He got to his feet and made off.

“Police attended and apprehended the co-accused as directed by CCTV. They noticed he had made attempts to conceal the glass bottle.

“Officers were approached by the man who identified the co-accused as one of the people who attacked him.”

A few days later, police were handed more CCTV footage and identified Sinclair. He appeared in court for sentencing.

His lawyer said: “Not to diminish the conduct but simply to clarify, the young male lying on the ground had already been the victim of an assault before this matter started.

“It was my client’s understanding that the complainer had been involved and that’s how it started.

"He’s apologetic regarding his behaviour. He has only relatively recently been released from custody having served a sentence for breaching court orders.

“As soon as he gets out of custody, he gets himself a job and focuses on that rather than court orders. Social workers view him as a suitable candidate for a non-custodial disposal.”

Sheriff Jonathan Guy explained there hadn’t been much support offered to Sinclair when being sentenced previously.

He told him: “This was a serious assault and taken together with your record, it easily passes the custody threshold. I’m entitled to impose a period in custody.

“Striking someone on the head with your foot could have caused a serious injury. You are lucky to be appearing in this court due to injuries not being substantial and I have to have regard to that.”

Sinclair, from Glasgow’s East End, was ordered to be under social work supervision for two years, pay £250 compensation to the victim, and stay within his home between 7pm-6am for 108 days.

Sheriff Guy made it clear that the sentence was a direct alternative to custody.