Elgin Sheriff Court hears Moray man assaulted neighbours in Forres home after ‘acrimonious relationship’ came to a head
A man who assaulted his neighbours after storming into their home has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Forres resident Paul Roy appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court on Thursday, October 3, after pleading guilty to two charges of assault and one charge of acting in a threatening and abusive manner in relation to an incident on August 5, 2022.
The court heard that at around 9pm that night, the 45-year-old was playing music at his home.
Fiscal depute Victoria Silver said Roy’s neighbours had asked him to turn the music down.
They tried to ignore the noise but at around 10pm, in an effort to force Roy to go inside, they turned on their log burner.
When this did not work, they turned on their garden hose which splashed through the fence separating the properties.
In response, Roy stormed into his neighbours’ home where, after a heated exchange, he punched his male neighbour 10 times on the head.
The woman in the home tried to intervene but broke her finger attempting to do so.
Roy is said to have then “pushed her to the chest” before punching the man again.
Police attended the following day where they observed bruising and swelling on the man’s face as well as a split lip. His right ear was also swollen but he did not accept medical attention. The woman’s finger was confirmed to be broken.
Defence solicitor Stephen Carty told the court that the relationship between the households had been “acrimonious” even before the incident.
He said that his client had gone over to the house to “remonstrate” with his neighbours and he had no intention to get into a physical altercation.
He added that Roy made a “foolhardy” decision but that he accepts his culpability regarding the incident.
Mr Carty also asked the court to “accept that his actions were born out of a sense of frustration” adding that the incident was “out of character” for his client.
Sheriff David Harvie, addressing Roy, said: “You lose your temper and you can do serious damage you know.
“I’m encouraged given that in the two years that have passed there have been no further incidents but the fact remains that this is a serious incident.”
Sheriff Harvie ordered Roy to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and enforced a period of supervision for six months.
He also ordered him to pay compensation of £500 to each victim for a total of £1000.