Bereaved cat owner in axe attack

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7485927.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A pet owner who attacked a car with an axe after hearing its driver ran over his cat has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service.

Ronald Brown, 31, from Perthshire, admitted smashing several garage doors before finding the vehicle and breaking its windscreen on 31 May.

Police were forced to restrain him using a baton after CS spray failed to work, Perth Sheriff Court was told.

Brown, of Tummel Bridge, was also ordered to pay compensation of £147.

The farm labourer said he grabbed the axe after hearing reports the offending motorist made "unsympathetic" remarks about his cat's demise.

Fiscal depute Therese Oswald said witnesses heard Brown strike the garage doors before finally finding the car.

The owner of the car had run over and caused the death of a pet belonging to the accused Therese OswaldFiscal depute

Having then left the scene, a drunken Brown, who also admitted possessing an axe and breaching the peace, returned later only to find the police there, and ran from the officers.

Ms Oswald said: "He was chased, but then he turned towards them and raised the small axe above his head.

"He started to shout and swear at the officers while brandishing the axe. They shouted at him to drop the axe, but he advanced towards them.

"He was sprayed with CS gas which initially did not work and he was struck once with a baton on the lower leg. He dropped to the ground."

Ms Oswald added: "He made a comment about smashing up the car because they had killed his animal. This was in relation to a pet the accused had owned."

Good character

Ms Oswald said Brown had consumed half a litre of whisky before the incident.

Brown told the officers: "I was just taking my anger out on the garages. I was just angry and being an idiot."

Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said his client had also been taking medication which had not combined well with the large volume of alcohol he drank.

He told the court: "Things had been preying on his mind. It was his intention to damage property and nothing beyond that."

Sheriff Michael Fletcher said: "It was quite a determined attack on police which required CS spray and then a baton to stop him."