Rosyth prison officer punched bus passenger who was sick over him

After being vomited on, 50-year-old Gary Watt retaliated with violence, punching the man on the face and leaving him with a wound which needed to be stitched at hospital.

However, Sheriff James MacDonald said the long-serving prison officer was a first-offender who had acted “in the heat of the moment” and gave him an absolute discharge.

Watt was a passenger on a late-night bus from Edinburgh to Fife when the incident occurred.

He claimed that the victim had been drinking on the bus and making offensive remarks throughout the journey.

Watt, from Rosyth, appeared in the dock at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He admitted that on August 16 last year, at Admiralty Road, Rosyth, he assaulted the passenger by punching him to the head to his injury.

Depute fiscal Laura McManus said the incident occurred on a bus which left Edinburgh at around 10pm heading for Fife.

After the assault, the victim was taken to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and required three stitches to a face wound.

Defence solicitor Laura Wallace said her client was a prison officer with 23 years’ service. He expected he would lose his job if he was convicted and she argued for an absolute discharge to be granted.

This decision by a sheriff means there is no conviction on a person’s record even if they have admitted the offence.

Ms Wallace said: “The complainer and his friend were drinking on the bus. They were making racist and offensive remarks to other passengers and this upset Mr Watt.

“During the course of the 45-minute journey, this behaviour and the offensive comments continued.

“The complainer then vomited on Mr Watt, who lost his temper and punched him. He then removed himself from the scene but waited nearby for the police to arrive.

“He co-operated fully with the police, accepted responsibility and has expressed sincere remorse.

“This was extremely out of character for him and he’s extremely embarrassed to find himself in court.

“He had been vomited on by a stranger and his actions were under extremely trying circumstances which would have tested the patience of most reasonable men.

“He has no previous convictions. He has worked 23 years in the prison system and it is likely he would lose his job in the case of a conviction.”

Depute fiscal Ms McManus said there was nothing in the police statements to confirm or deny the accusations about the anti-social behaviour on the bus.

She commented: “It’s clearly accepted that being vomited on would have been a wholly unpleasant experience for anyone. I don’t think it was deliberate.”