A BONHILL man who carried out a vicious attack with a glass bottle outside a local nightclub has avoided a jail sentence – but only by the narrowest of margins.

Taylor Young's attack on the man in the early hours of the morning in the centre of Balloch was described by a sheriff as “an utterly gratuitous level of violence”.

CCTV footage of the incident showed 23-year-old Young walking up behind his unsuspecting victim and using the bottle to strike him forcibly on the back of the head.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court was told this week that Young's victim had declined medical attention after the incident, which happened in Balloch Road just after 2.30am on December 20 last year – and that in fact his victim was later arrested for his own belligerent behaviour towards police.

Prosecutor Emma Thomson said an altercation had ensued between the pair after the attack, before Young made off towards Balloch Bridge.

Before speaking on Young's behalf, his solicitor, Gail Campbell, was warned by Sheriff William Gallacher: “You face a task the size of Everest to persuade me not to send this young man to prison.”

But it was a task Ms Campbell succeeded in achieving after Sheriff Gallacher decided to impose a community-based sentence instead of jail.

Ms Campbell told the court Young's victim had been involved in an “altercation” with one of Young's friends earlier that evening, and that Young carried out the attack after drinking heavily and taking cocaine.

“I have a duty to try to climb that Everest,” Ms Campbell said.

“The accused took a course of action which he now bitterly regrets, for very good reason.”

Ms Campbell's task in keeping her client out of prison was made all the more difficult by a social work report on Young which Sheriff Gallacher described as “dreadful”.

The court heard that the background report on Young stated that he did not regret the offence and that he did not consider he had problems with alcohol consumption.

“He has a serious attitude problem,” the sheriff continued.

“I consider it almost impossible to do anything other than send him to prison.”

Ms Campbell replied: “His attitude as described in the report has not been his attitude with me in the past.

“It's clear there is ongoing anger with what happened to his friend that night.

“Alcohol is no excuse – I would never stand before any sheriff and argue that it was – but he knows he does have an alcohol problem, and he has an inability on occasion to resist certain substances.

“He would agree to any non-custodial disposal, however creative, stringent or extensive that might be.”

Passing sentence, Sheriff Gallacher said: “I cannot ignore the perspective in relation to the behaviour of other persons involved, and I take account of the earlier incidents and the limited extent of matters afterwards.

“But those are the high points of mitigation on your behalf. Your behaviour was that of an aggressive, uncontrolled individual.”

Young, of Lenwood Gardens in Bonhill, was placed on a community payback order featuring 18 months' supervision, and told to attend counselling for his alcohol and anger management problems.

He was also told to carry out three hundred hours of unpaid work within nine months, and given a six-month restriction of liberty order confining him to his home address between 7pm and 7am each day.

A review of the order was fixed for November, and the sheriff said: “This is the maximum sentence I can impose on a summary complaint.

“The review had better tell me you are complying fully, in every single respect. If you fail by an inch, I will revoke the order and send you to prison for nine months.”