A THUG who launched a vicious attack on a man in Dumbarton has been spared jail.

Nathan Reid appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court for sentencing last week, having pleaded guilty to the offence which took place on April 17, 2021.

Along with another, whose identity is unknown to the procurator fiscal, Reid repeatedly punched the man on the head and body, pinned him against a fence, and repeatedly struck him on the body with a sharp implement.

The incident happened close to the gas works on Castlegreen Street, with the victim being left with permanent disfigurement.

The 20-year-old’s defence solicitor told Sheriff Maxwell Hendry that a report prepared by a social worker was “helpful and favourable”.

She said: “This case is going to hang over him for a significant length of time and he is aware of that.

“There’s an implication that he will reoffend once this case is out of here, but the offence is nearly two years old and he has not done that.”

Reid, who was 18 at the time of the offence, was handed a Community Payback Order (CPO) on Friday, February 10.

He has been ordered to complete 225 hours of unpaid work within 12 months, and will be subject to supervision for a period of three years.

He must also comply with a conduct requirement to attend alcohol counselling or treatment if directed by his supervising officer.

An additional conduct condition was made for Reid to attend the Venture Trust – an organisation which supports people gong through the criminal justice system in Scotland - if and when instructed to do so.

Sheriff Hendry told Reid: “The offence you accept you committed viewed in isolation justifies sending you to custody.

“It’s something you ought to be heartily ashamed of.

“If you do this, or anything like it, again, I don’t think any judge will have to think long or hard as I have.”

Reid will return to Dumbarton Sheriff Court on June 2 for a review of his CPO. The sheriff warned him that if the order if breached, he will have “very few options” before him.