Over-eager crowds sparked a vicious assault that left a woman with a hefty dental bill, Perth Sheriff Court has heard.
As thousands of people waited for The View to perform at T in the Park, Paul Sinclair turned on two revellers, accusing them of “barging” into him.
When one of the ladies told the 21-year-old that they were being pushed around by the audience, he started swearing at her, calling her an idiot.
In what the court was told was an attempt to defuse the situation, the woman’s friend grabbed Sinclair’s hat and pulled it from his head.
The court was told how a “red mist” then descended and the accused butted her in the face, knocking out one of her teeth.
Security staff came to the aid of the complainer and her friend before calling for police backup.
Following the incident, the woman attended at her dentist and has so far received treatment totalling £122.28. She now requires extensive surgery, estimated to cost between £2,500 and £3,000.
Solicitor James Carmichael revealed his client had no previous convictions and had not been drinking or taking drugs prior to the offence on July 13 last year.
He said: “He had gone to the festival with his girlfriend and her sister. He and his companions were at the front of the queue of people who were waiting to see a particular band.
“They were all subject to barging and crushing and he had remonstrated to those behind him. His hat was whipped off and he had reacted by punching this unfortunate lady in the face.
“He is mortified by his behaviour and he is penitent and remorseful for the injuries he caused.”
Sinclair, of Burntbroom Gardens in Glasgow, admitted that on July 13 at the T in the Park festival, near Kinross, he assaulted a woman by butting her face, to her injury.
He was admonished but ordered to pay his victim £3,250 compensation.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis sympathised with the accused, saying: “The problem is that when you reacted in the way you did, you had no intention of causing the significant injuries this woman suffered.”