A bare-knuckle boxer who pummelled an innocent delivery driver before spitting blood at a police officer has dodged jail.

Jason Paul launched the unprovoked attack on the man as he was taking food to an address in the Hazlehead Drive area of Dundee last October.

He carried out the assault alongside Thomas Thomson before the drunken pair ended up fighting each other.

Around £2,500 worth of damage was caused to the delivery driver’s car and another parked vehicle in the incident.

Paul was also sentenced after being convicted in December of dragging his ex-partner down a flight of stairs and causing her to flee a property.

Personal trauma

A sheriff stopped short of jailing Paul and instead placed him on a stringent community-based order.

“I see you have suffered from what looks like particular trauma in your life and I take that into account,” Sheriff Paul Brown said.

“It seems genuine and well documented. You have already spent a substantial period in prison.”

Dundee Sheriff Court was told how Paul’s victim was delivering food to an address on the street at around 8.45pm on October 8 2023. A woman was in the passenger seat of his car.

After leaving the vehicle, he was approached by 37-year-old Paul, who left a white van and approached him aggressively, asking why he was in the area.

Paul replied “go on then” when the man said he was there to deliver a takeaway, but matters quickly took a sinister turn.

Prosecutor Lee Corr said previously: “As he reached the gate, he was punched to the side of the head by Mr Paul.

“Mr Paul then entered the drivers’ seat of the victim’s car, whilst the other witness was within and attempted to start the engine.

“The witness immediately tried to exit the vehicle whilst the victim tried to pull Mr Paul out of the driver’s seat of the car.”

Injuries

The man was attacked once again by Paul who repeatedly punched him, with Thomson landing a single blow.

Thomson, 44, had moved the van forward and it struck the rear of the man’s car, propelling it into another parked car.

Paul again tried to enter the driver’s door of the victim’s vehicle but was pulled back by Thomson which resulted in a fight between them.

The victim suffered a burst lip and an abrasion to his neck. Paul unleashed a volley of abuse at police officers which included threats to stab them as well as falsely claiming to be HIV positive.

The abuse continued at Ninewells Hospital where Paul spat blood in the eye of a police officer.

The officer received two precautionary Hepatitis B vaccinations and blood tests.

Sport ‘transformed’ life

Ex-scaffolding boss Paul spoke in 2021 about how bare knuckle boxing had transformed his life.

He had been addicted to prescription medication, experienced homelessness and lost his business.

Paul, of Hepburn Street, pled guilty to assaulting the man by punching him on the head to his injury.

He also admitted charges of being outside his home address while subject to a curfew, making threats of violence and sexual remarks to officers at police headquarters and spitting blood at a police officer at Ninewells Hospital.

Sheriff Brown placed him on a three-year community payback order which includes a restriction of liberty order, keeping him indoors between 7pm and 7am for 12 months.

Paul was also ordered to perform 200 hours of unpaid work and must undertake offence-focused work as part of a conduct requirement.

A five-year non-harassment order was also imposed preventing him from contacting his ex-partner.

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