A Fife man, who butted his 77-year-old mother and told police “she had been asking for it”, has been jailed for 10 months.
Kevin Nicol, 44, unemployed and living with his parents, butted his mother on June 19 leaving her face bleeding and swollen in an argument over a kettle of water.
With his mum being taken to hospital with a suspected broken nose, Nicol told police: “She had been asking for it for bloody years”.
Nicol was living with his parents at their home in Carden Castle Avenue, Cardenden, at the time of the incident.
The court had heard that Nicol’s mother was preparing lunch and waiting for a kettle to boil. When it did, Nicol took it, made himself coffee then poured the rest down the sink.
When his mum asked why he had poured the water away, Nicol became angry, calling her: “You old bugger”.
He lunged forward and butted her on the face, leaving her standing with blood dripping from her nose.
Sheriff Craig McSherry was not impressed by the attitude shown by him to social workers in their report.
Defence solicitor Selina Mackay said having spoken to him there was little she could do to “gloss over” her client’s attitude and that it was accurately reflected in the report.
She went on: “There has been a lot of simmering tension below the surface which had instantaneously been released at this time.”
Ms McKay said Nicol had been accompanied to court by his father, who felt the incident had been “out of character”.
His parents wanted him to return home, added the solicitor.