Grieving dad's night of drunken rage in Carronshore

Christopher Easton appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday having pleaded guilty behaving in a threatening manner – making a threatening phone call to his partner – and assaulting a man, kicking him on the head, in Blackmill Crescent, Carron on February 29 last year.

The court heard Easton had previous convictions, mostly for disorder and road traffic matters and one previous domestic offence.

He and his partner had been in a relationship for 27 years and had two sons and a daughter together in that time.

Easton had begun drinking alcohol following the death of one of his sons six years ago.

Rose Wilson, procurator fiscal depute, said: “The witness was working the 2pm to 10pm shift at McColls in Carron. The accused telephoned her at her place of work demanding she finish her shift and return home.

"He threatened to come to her work if she did not come home. He told her he would go to her work and smash the place up, saying he had purchased two bottles of Buckfast.”

Easton did turn up at the workplace later that day.

"He sounded the horn of his car,” said the procurator fiscal depute. “She went out to the car and he told her to get in and come with him. When she refused he went home and repeated telephoned her, screaming at the down the phone.

"She finished her shift and went to her friend’s house. Her friend saw she was upset and the accused continued to telephone her. At 11pm the accused attended at the address in an intoxicated state, shouting at his partner to come home with him.

"He was told to leave and did, but returned and knocked on the door, which was opened by the partner of his partner’s friend. The accused punched him on the nose, causing it to bleed.”

A struggle then broke out between the two men – who were actually friends – in the front garden of the property.

Police were called and Easton was arrested.

Defence solicitor Murray Aitken said: “He is ashamed of what happened that night and very much regrets the trouble he caused his partner and these other people who were his friends.

"Clearly a significant event occurred in 2013, but he is not trying to use his son’s death as an excuse. It seems to have been the catalyst for the excessive consumption of alcohol by Mr Easton and his partner.”

Easton, who runs his own scaffolding business, was said to have known the man he attacked for a long time and they lived around the corner from each other.

Sheriff Craig Harris noted the attack on the man, although it did not result in a serious injury, did include a kick to the head.

"The potential for harm was high,” he added.

He placed Easton, 9b Roughlands Drive, Carronshore, on a supervised community payback order for 12 months with the condition he complete 150 hours unpaid work within that time.

Easton was also ordered to pay the man he attacked £500 compensation at a rate of £30 a week.

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