A vulnerable woman hit her head on a wall after she was pushed by a drunk Arbroath man during an argument.
John Harding, 44, of West Cotton of Gardyne, admitted assaulting his former partner at an address at Elm Brae, Arbroath on February 15.
He also admitted that on the same date and at the same location, he caused fear or alarm by repeatedly banging on a door, shouting and swearing and repeatedly shouting abuse and derogatory names through the letterbox of the door towards the woman.
Depute fiscal Jill Drummond told the court: “The complainer resides at the locus alone and suffers a serious hereditary disease called Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, which is a genetic connective tissue disorder.
“Some of her intestine is outside her body and she is described as a vulnerable person who is small in stature.
“She and the accused had been in a relationship for around six years which she described as volatile mainly due to her medical issues and the accused having alcohol issues.
“That night they had both stayed awake and the accused had been drinking alcohol.
“At around 6.30am they had an argument and for no apparent reason the accused pushed the woman on the front of both shoulders. She stumbled backwards and banged her head off a wall.”
The woman did not contact police at that time but spoke to a friend about the incident, who came to her property to check on her later that day.
“They spoke for about 20 minutes when they both heard banging at the front door,” the depute fiscal continued.
“The accused was shouting through the letterbox demanding to be allowed entry. He was swearing and calling the woman names which upset her.
“This continued for about 20 minutes. The woman then contacted police and reported the matter.”
Under police interview Harding said he couldn’t recollect the assault due to being intoxicated.
Ms Drummond added: “He claimed that he had no memory of the push but said that if the woman said this it was probably the case.”
Defence agent Brian Boyd said: “He accepts that he drank to excess and accepts the woman’s position.”
Sheriff Pino Di Emidio placed Harding on a low tariff structured deferred sentence and deferred sentence for three months for him to be of good behaviour.