Forres man fractured drinking partner’s skull in one-punch attack outside the Newmarket Bar on Tolbooth Street

A 20-year-old fractured a man’s skull after a one-punch attack outside a Forres pub.

Makenzie Hewitson - who has three previous convictions for assault - knocked his drinking partner unconscious outside the Newmarket Bar on Tolbooth Street.

Hewitson previously admitted endangering the victim’s life after he fractured his skull when his head crashed off the road.

The incident occurred on August 24, 2024, after the pair had been drinking together throughout the day.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard that Hewitson and his drinking partner had fallen out in the Legends Bar after the accused refused to buy his pal a drink.

The disagreement continued after they moved to The Newmarket and, on leaving, Hewitson punched his victim on the head, knocking him onto the ground and unconscious.

The 20-year-old, of Bynack Place in Forres, pleaded guilty to assault to severe injury and danger of life.

Sheriff Sara Matheson ordered Hewitson to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work and placed him under a curfew.

Sheriff Matheson told him: "This is a serious matter. Sustaining a fractured skull could have been fatal.

“You have three previous convictions for assault, and a custodial sentence was almost a certainty.

"I have been narrowly persuaded by Mr Lockie not to impose one, but it will be a strict community payback order."

Defending, Brent Lockie said that his client had since stayed out of trouble and had satisfactorily completed a community payback order.

Mr Lockie also claimed the victim was being “obnoxious” before the assault.

"I am not ignoring his previous convictions with the last one being a serious assault,” he said.

“But the defendant was being obnoxious in Legends Bar and challenging people to fight. My client refused to buy him another pint.

"He snapped when they left the other bar and is quite ashamed of himself. He told police: 'I never meant for that to happen. Tell him I am sorry.'

"This is a young man who has reached a crossroads in his life and he appears to be moving in the right direction.”

Sheriff Matheson instructed Hewitson to remain in his home between 7pm and 6am for three months and between 10pm and 6am for the following three months while wearing an electronic tag.

He was also placed under 32 months of social work supervision.

Sheriff Matheson added: "You must keep your alcohol intake under control because this seems to be the cause."