Man suffered 'catastrophic injuries' after being punched by teenage stranger on night out

A man suffered “catastrophic injuries” after being punched by a teenager on a night out in Aberdeen.

The victim was placed in a medically induced coma following the attack on him on Union Street, which left him with facial fractures, a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain.

Jackson Bennett, then aged 19, hit the man once with his left fist after following the man just after midnight on August 11 last year.

Advocate depute David Fisken told the High Court in Edinburgh: “The force of the punch resulted in the complainer being rendered unconscious as he fell backwards and struck the back of his head on the pavement.”

The attack was captured on CCTV and footage of the victim collapsing to the ground was shown to the court.

Bennett, of Westhill, in Aberdeenshire, admitted assaulting the 31-year-old to his severe injury, permanent impairment and disfigurement and to the danger of his life.

A judge told Bennett, now 20: “This is an extremely serious charge that you are pleading guilty to.”

Lord Arthurson said: “You inflicted catastrophic injuries on your victim.”

The court heard that the victim and his partner were socialising in Aberdeen with friends and were staying at a hotel. Bennett was in the city centre with friends. Bennett and the man were unknown to each other at the time.

The victim and his group were walking along Union Street as they returned to their hotel when they passed Bennett and his friends. Words were exchanged between the teenager and victim.

They came face to face and the victim’s partner told him to walk away, which he did. However Bennett followed him for a short distance. The man turned to speak to him and Bennett landed the blow before quickly walking away.

The victim’s partner and another woman saw blood coming from the nose and an ear of the victim and emergency services were contacted. Paramedics were quickly on the scene to attend to the unconscious attack victim.

They became concerned about his presentation and formed the opinion that he was suffering from a traumatic brain injury.

The man was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and placed in a coma in the intensive care unit. He was sedated and ventilated and a tracheotomy was carried out on him.

The court heard that he remained in hospital until November 11 and initially was unable to walk and talk because of his injuries.

The victim has been left with hearing loss on his left side and suffers from seizures following his injuries.

Bennett was arrested at his home address and as he was taken to a police station, he claimed the incident occurred over a racist comment. However, the victim denied saying anything that could be construed as racist.

Defence counsel Neil Shand said Bennett understood that when a case was in the High Court “a jail sentence is a very realistic possibility”.

But he asked for bail to be continued while a background report is prepared on the first offender. Lord Arthurson agreed to continue bail but told Bennett: “You should read nothing into that.”

Bennett is due to be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on December 18.