A MAN who repeatedly rattled his friend in the face with a crutch has been ordered to remain indoors every night for the next three months.

Michael Murray was arrested outside Alloa Town Hall on May 30 as officers responded to reports of a fight in the middle of the day.

He then appeared from custody at Alloa Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to two charges, before returning to the dock last Thursday for sentencing.

The court heard that on the day in question the police had spoken to him and his friend at around 1.45pm for another matter and at that time the friend had no injuries to his face.

Murray then got into an argument with the friend and proceeded to take a crutch off another man before striking the complainer several times on the face with it.

The procurator fiscal added that the blows had caused bruising to the left cheek.

When police arrived the 27-year-old, of Maple Court in Alloa, began shouting and swearing at officers, including ‘ya f***ing weirdos’ and ‘I hope you die a slow death’.

He then shouted: ‘Baby’s going to get stabbed for this,’ at a witness who he believed had phoned the police on him.

Claire McCarron, defending Murray, told the court that the criminal justice social work report suggests the accused does not accept responsibility, adding that this is down to the fact that he has no recollection of it.

She said that once faced with the evidence, however, he accepted that he must have acted in this way.

“The complainer is one of his close friends and got in touch with my office to say he did not want the matter to proceed,” the solicitor added.

The court then heard that Murray had suffered a couple of “difficult years” due to a conviction of causing "unnecessary suffering" to a severely injured puppy in his care by failing to afford it medical attention.

He was initially charged with stamping on the dog, aged between six and 10 weeks, but struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was left to die behind a takeaway in Alloa, back in December 2016, having suffered broken hind legs and a broken back.

For the crutch assault, Sheriff David Mackie sentenced Murray to a restriction of liberty order for three months which requires him to be within his home between the hours of 8pm and 5am every night.

He will also be supervised for a period of 18 months.