James Alan Fraser (23), address given as 26 Eden Drive, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to assaulting the man in Bridge Street in the early hours of December 28 last year.

Fiscal depute Lindy Scaife told the court Fraser's victim had been outside the Three in One takeaway in Argyle Street, with his girlfriend and another friend, shortly after midnight, when an argument had broken out with Fraser.

The group walked away from the scene, but a short time later Fraser ran up behind his victim, grabbed him by the throat and punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

Jim Hannay, defending, said Fraser, who had five years' service in the army, had been out with friends on the night in question and originally couldn't remember the assault, and his change in position had arisen only after talking with friends at his home.

"A drunken night where you can't remember anything is going to prove expensive," Sheriff Herald told Fraser.

"Can I just ask you to direct your tendencies in the correct way in future, and not in the streets of Rothesay."

Drink drive ban: no special reasons, says sheriff

Rothesay man William McNeil failed in his bid to avoid disqualification for a drink-driving offence when he appeared at the town's sheriff court.

McNeil's agent, Jim Hannay, argued that there were special reasons for not giving McNeil the mandatory one-year ban - specifically, that he had only driven in order to take his girlfriend to hospital after she suffered an asthma attack.

McNeil (26), address given as 19 Roslin Crescent, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to driving while over the legal alcohol limit in High Street on August 23 last year.

The court heard a ten-minute recording of a 999 call made by a friend of McNeil's from a mobile phone at a house in Waverley Avenue at 9.46pm that night.

McNeil could clearly be heard shouting and swearing in an agitated manner in the background, causing the Scottish Ambulance Service worker on the other end of the line to warn that police would be called to attend if McNeil didn't calm down.

The recording also captured the sound of McNeil deciding - against the wishes of his girlfriend and his friend - to drive to the hospital, despite having had a couple of drinks, because the ambulance had not yet arrived.

The call continued until the trio had arrived at the Victoria Hospital a few minutes later.

"I don't want to diminish the situation which was quite apparent in
this house when your girlfriend took ill," Sheriff Herald told McNeil, "however, special reasons not to disqualify are defined as special for a very good purpose.

"It's quite clear as you listen that your behaviour in shouting and swearing at the very least was delaying the dispatcher from taking decisions which may have meant that ambulance was sent far quicker than it actually was.

"It's also quite clear that your girlfriend was more concerned about you driving than about her own situation. She didn't think it was an emergency. She said you should have waited for the ambulance.

"When you add that to the fact that you were told the ambulance was on its way before you decided to drive, and you were well aware that the ambulance was only two minutes away, I have some difficulty - if not impossibility - in deciding that there are special reasons not to disqualify you."

McNeil, who provided a sample of breath with 44 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath - slightly more than the legal limit of 35 microgrammes - was fined £200 and given the mandatory minimum 12-month ban.