A MAN’S jaw was broken in two places when he was attacked by a passing stranger outside a pub in Dunfermline town centre.

The victim was standing in the street outside a bar when he was approached from behind and punched twice.

Murray McManus, 29, of Menteith Drive, Dunfermline, appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He previously admitted that on October 9 last year in Guildhall Street, he assaulted his victim by repeatedly punching him on the head, causing him to fall to the ground to his severe injury.

The court was told the victim and McManus were not known to each other and the incident occurred at around 1am.

The complainer had been on a night out with friends and was in Monty’s Bar when he went outside for a smoke.

The door staff would not allow him back into the pub and as he remonstrated with them, the town centre CCTV cameras caught McManus walking past and going to a nearby cash machine.

He then walked back down Guildhall Street, approached the victim and punched him twice from behind. The man fell to the ground and began spitting out blood as McManus walked away calmly.

The victim’s jaw was broken in two places and he required surgery to have two plates and 16 screws inserted.

Defence solicitor Ian Beatson said: “He very much regrets this incident and the injury caused to the complainer. He has no recollection of the incident. He no longer socialises in Dunfermline and hasn’t taken cocaine since that night.

“He appreciates he has put himself in a very serious position.”

Sheriff Craig McSherry told McManus he had considered a custodial sentence “given the nature of the injury and the circumstances of you attacking someone who is unknown to you and it’s not the first time you’ve done that”.

However, as an alternative to prison, the sheriff imposed a community payback order with 200 hours of unpaid work. McManus was also ordered to pay £3,000 compensation.