A victim was left unconscious after being assaulted by a man in a pub.
First offender Harry Baillie, 26, of Aitchison Place, Earlston, admitted punching a man on the head, causing him to fall and strike his head on furniture and the ground at the village’s Red Lion on January 11.
Prosecuting, Tessa Bradley said: “Both were under the influence of alcohol.”
She said there was only a handful of customers in the pub, including the accused and the complainer, who were there separately.
The prosecutor went on: “There is previous bad blood between them and initially they had spoken, but stayed away from each other.”
At about 10pm, the victim was returning from the toilet when the pair met, said Ms Bradley, adding: “There was a heated exchange and the accused took a step back, as if to walk away, but then swung a punch.”
The victim was knocked off his feet backwards and the momentum of the blow also caused the accused to fall on top of him. On the way to the ground, the man banged his head on a table and chair, before striking his head on the floor.
“He was knocked out cold and the accused was told to go and an ambulance called,” continued Ms Bradley.
Others tried to give the complainer first aid while the ambulance arrived and he began to come round after about 10 minutes. He was taken to Borders General Hospital where he required three staples to a cut to the back of his head, and a one-inch laceration above his eye had to be glued.
Ms Bradley said Baillie was “forthcoming” to police during interview.
Ed Hulme, defending, said: “He says the complainer approached him and he lashed out, but he didn’t mean to cause such serious injury.”
Baillie was fined £300 and ordered to pay his victim £200 compensation.